Love Cuts Deep
by NeonZangetsu
Summary: Naruto's back from his three years of training. And his heart is a mess. Sakura is uncertain of her feelings, and its driving the poor blond mad with grief and rage.... Pairing DECIDED! NaruxInnerSakuraxHinataxKurenai!
1. Good to be Back or Not

Naruto landed atop the village gates, and breathed in the air, his chest rising as he sucked in a deep breath, before letting it out. There he was, standing atop the roof of them, gazing out over the village, a wide grin on his face as the wind blew his blond hair. "Ah, it's SO good to be home again!" His voice was filled with mirth as he said this, his hands stretched out wide at his sides. He gave a content sigh and crossed his arms behind his head now, as Jiraiya stood next to him, the pervy sage grinning as he saw an amusing sight. _'Well I'll be-_ he nudged Naruto in the side with one elbow and pointed to the Hokage monument. "Hey kid, take a look."

Naruto turned his gaze on the Hokage faces, and raised a blond eyebrow in amusement, a wide grin forming on his face. Tsunade's face had been added to the four Hokage's, and it was truly a sight to behold, seeing the faces of all five Hokages etched into the mountain, their faces hard and firmly made into the stone. "Hey, they finally added Grandma Tsunade's face to the mountain! That's awesome!"

Then he smiled as he smelled the familiar scent of Ramen, the thick scent wafting over his nose. It had been SOOOOO long since he had last eaten at Ichiraku's...

That decided it. He turned to Jiraiya, and gave him a wave with his left hand, snapping it to his forhead in a salute. "Later pervy sage. I'm going to get some ramen." Jiraiya smiled as he extended his hand, which Naruto took, shaking it enthusiastcally. "Now remember what I told you. You're older now. No more crazy pranks, at least not in front of any girls." Naruto nodded, and released the hand of his mentor, before springing off of the gates, and leaping into the village, shouting over his shoulder.

"Got it!"

--

She shot through the streets, a pink blur of motion as she had heard the news from Tsunade moments before. _'He's back!Naruto's back! I can't believe it! It's already been three years..._

A smile lit her face as she remembered all his childish antics, and then all the times she had bonked him over the head. His promise to retrieve Sasuke, and when she had just started to l- She cleared her head, not wanting to get ahead of herself here. She really was looking forward to seeing him again, wondering how much, if at all he had changed over the years. _'I wonder if he's gotten any taller..._

She remembered how quiet the village had been with him gone, no more pranks, no loud shouting, no persistent Naruto asking her out, and looked forward to seeing him liven things up a bit upon his return. With a burst of speed, she rounded a corner...

An nearly ran into Naruto, forcing her to slam on the brakes as she saw him standing there, bringing her face perilously close to his, before she sprang backwards, noting a smile on his face as he recognized Sakura, his now deeper voice startling her out of herself. "Hey. It sure has been awhile. Sakura-chan. I almost didn't recognize you. You really look different."

The Haruno gasped as she took in the new Uzumaki, surprised, and slightly annoyed, to see that he was now several inches taller than her. She found herself at a loss for words, and berated herself mentally for this. _'Stupid! Say something! It's just Naruto! You shouldn't have any trouble talking to him!'_

But she still found herself unable to speak, her mouth refusing to form any words whatsoever. Naruto grinned down at her and leaned forward, placing a hand on top of her pink hair, his saphire blue eyes crinkling in a smile. She could tell from the tone of his voice that he was happy to see her after such a long time, and he seemed to be _heaps _more confident, if he was actually daring to get this close to her. "It looks like I 'm taller than you now, Sakura-chan. Did you shrink while I was gone?"

She frowned at his comment, not liking that remark one bit, instinctively lashing out at him with a fist, the motion lightning fast... only for Naruto to grin as caught it with his free hand, his tone chastising the Haruno as gently, but firmly held her hand. "Now Sakura-chan, that wasn't very nice. I was just talking to you, and here you are trying to bop me over the head. Especially with Tsunade's super strength. That would have left quite a bruise if I hadn't caught it."

She blushed at this chastisement, and suddenly realized how close his face was to hers, making her face turn a bright pink at the close proximity, a whirliwind of emotions going through her body. Anger, joy, fear, and...something else... _'Does he even know what he's doing? He's so close I could just..._

At that moment, Naruto removed his hand from her head, releasing her wrist in the process, making her sigh in relief as the strange feelings faded. He smiled as he gave her a quick once over, making her blush again. "So how have you been Sakura-chan? I see you got a new outfit. Did anything interesting happen while I was gone?"

Sakura grinned as she revealed that almost everyone had become Chunin while he was away. Naruto grinned as well as he informed her that Tsunade had made him a Chunin before her left on his journey. "The only reason I don't have my vest right now is because I got back an hour ago."

She raised an eyebrow at this, this new Naruto. _'He's completely different from before. He actually looks kinda... handsome... _Now _she _gave him a quick once over, and he smiled when he caught her doing so, his voice laced with amusement."Sakura-chan, are you checking me out?"

She turned beet red, and quickly decided to change the subject. So she blurted out a question of her own, her tone unsure, not knowing why she was asking him this, tenting her fingers much like Hinata always did. "Naruto, do I look any different to you? More... I don't know...mature?"

Now she controlled her blush as she said it, making her face turn a pale pink as Naruto gave his response, his voice warm. as he gazed down at her. "Yeah, Sakura. You're even more beautiful than when I left. You really have grown into a beautiful woman." The Haruno gaped at this, then slowly walked over, and tapped him on the head with a gloved hand. "Okay. Spill it. What have you done with the real Naruto?" The Uzumaki grinned as he made a ram seal. "Its me Sakura chan. Here, I'll prove it. Relase."

Nothing happened.

He smiled as she tried the same thing, and still nothing happened. See? I told you that its me? Is it really that hard to believe?" She nodded at this, crossing her arms in front of her as she did so. "It sure is. You're WAY different than when you left. What happened?" Naruto chuckled as he shook his head, crossing his own arms in front of him, a bemused grin on his face. "Well, its kind of a long- Then his ears pricked and he grabbed her arm, spinning her towards him, and into his arms, making her face go bright pink as one _very _excited Konahamaru landed where she had been standing mere moments before, kicking up a cloud of dust from the impact.

The excited genin grinned as he saw Naruto, the young teen was practically bursting with joy as he saw his friend for the first time in three years. "Boss! You're back!" Then his gaze fell on Sakura, who was held tightly in Naruto's arms. And slowly a grin formed, his tone became that of someone who _thinks _that they know whats going on, when they actually have no idea whatsoever. "And you landed Sakura as you girlfriend already?!" He flashed his pearly whites in a wide grin and closed his eyes, giving him a thumbs up. "NICE! That's just like you boss! You're always getting all the girls!"

Sakura turned beet red at this, and Naruto gave a sigh, smiling as he did so. _'Yeah, I wish..._ But he gently let go of Sakura, and turned to face his young friend, lowering himself to his knees as he did so. "Konahamaru, Sakura-chan and I are just friends, nothing more. I've already asked her out a million times. She just wants to- Sakura could've _sworn _she saw sadness in his eyes for a moment, but then it was gone as he went on. "Be friends." He turned to Sakura, a knowing smile on his face, and she saw that he _seemed_ happy for her, when in fact, he was quite the opposite. "Besides, Sakura-chan said she loves Sasuke. Right Sakura-chan?"

The poor Haruno was taken a back by this, and in both a good and a bad way. Part of her was kind of glad that he had taken her words to heart, and another was sorry that he had seemingly given up on her, and that look she saw in his eyes made her feel a little sad herself, knowing that he hadn't done so willingly. But he appeared to have given up on her, just as Lee had so a year ago after Tenten told him that she loved him. _'He's giving up on me? And why do I actually feel sad about that? And what was with that look..._

Shaking it off as nothing, she watched as Konohamaru showed off Naruto's original technique, the Sexy Jutsu. As soon as he turned into the smoke covered woman, Jiraiya, who was passing by, immediately got a _huge _nosebleed, and fell backwards onto the ground, twitching uncontrollably, as Sakura's jaw dropped at the jutsu. _'Why you little pervert!_

Naruto however had a different reaction. He smiled and shook his head, a bemused smile on his face as he rose to his feet. "Hey, I'm to old to be soing such childish things. And you should know better. You need to focus on more important justu than that one." Konohamru's looked crestfallen, and he released the jutsu, looking quite confused. Sakura smiled at this new display of maturity, and nodded.

"He's right. Such perverted acts disgrace women. You should be ashamed of yourself." The genin hung his head, but Naruto placed a hand on his shoulder, and grinned as he handed the boy a scroll, his tone serious. "Here, try learning _this _jutstu. It's an A-rank jutsu known as the Rasengan."

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow at this, as Naruto explained the three steps and so on, pulling out a water balloon and demonstrating, before handing him a set of uninflated balloons, which the excited genin immediatley took off to go practice with, shouting his thanks over his shoulder.

_'Wow Naruto. You really have grown up.' _He saw Sakura fidgeting out of the corner of his eye, stealing glances at her blond teammate. He grinned as the teen bid her farewell sayin he was going to find the rest of his old friends. _'And it looks like he's becoming quite the ladies man.'_

A second later, Sakura sped off after him...

_--_

Naruto ran as hard as he could until he was sure he was out of sight, his legs nearly giving out as he hid behind a tree. He then realized he was in the training grounds. Then he stole a quick look around, to ascertain that he was alone.

He was.

An instant later, he fell to his knees, and covered his face with both hands, the tears that he had held back pouring out once more, as he remembered all of the pain that being around Sakura caused him. "She may have changed on the outside, but- he looked up at the tree, and saw Sasuke's face on the wood jeering at him, taunting him, mocking him.

A second later, a clawed hand smashed into it, leaving a small hole, his eyes going red and slitted from rage and grief as he fought to keep himself from screaming out, his voice filled with rage and grief. "But she still loves that damn teme!" Then he could take it no more. He threw his head back, and screamed aloud, a primal scream of rage and sadness, of love and hatred." RAAAAAAAAAAGH! DAMN YOU SASUKE!"


	2. The Struggle of the Mind

**YES! I'M GETTING A TON OF VOTES! KEEP IT UP GUYS! YOU'LL GET THE OFFICIAL PAIRING IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!**

Sakura gasped, a hand covering her mouth as she arrived at the training field, just in time to see Naruto break down, crying into his hands, then scream at the top of his lungs. She could feel his grief, even from this distance, and it was overwhelmingly powerful. _'Naruto... Was this what you were hiding in your eyes before? You look so sad, It..._

She placed a hand over her chest, her heart beating oddly fast all of a sudden, as she watched her teammate continue to lose himself. _'Its painful to watch..._

_--_

Naruto held his head in his clawed hands, his canine teeth elongating into fangs, his whisker marks widening, as red chakra started to leak out of the seal, completley unnoticed by the Chunin, as he let his grief take over, unable to hold it back. Enraged, he screamed out into the air, not knowing that Sakura was nearby, and hearing his every word, his voice going from a soft whisper to a roar of furious sadness as he spoke.

"This bites! I go through three _years_of training, physical and mental, all for her, and she still loves that teme!Why? Why? WHY?! WHAT DOES SHE SEE IN HIM?!"

A single tail of red chakra burst into life behind him, as he was enveloped in the red aura, losing himself in his emotions, the Kyuubi beginning to influence him

--

Sakura shivered as she felt the dark chakra, and judging from what Kakashi had told her, she knew EXACTLY what this was. _'This is... the Kyuubi! It WAS sealed in Naruto! Sensei was right!' _Now, after so many years, all of the pieces fell into place in her mind. His kindness to her, even when she shot him down after he asked her out again and again. Why he was always so cheerful, the pranks, everything. And she now knew, that she was the source. The main source of all his pain.

Every time he had asked her out, she had either smacked him and said no, or she had brutally shot him down in public. And she had done THAT many, many times. A tear leaked out. Then another.

Then the water poured from her eyes, like it had been held back by a dam, cascading down her cheeks as she whispered to herself, sounding broken, and feeling _terrible _for seeing like this, for was her fault that he was so grief stricken. "Its all my fault. I did this too him, I told him I loved Sasuke, almost every day. And still he tried. And I shot him down. My fault. Its...all...my fault...

--

Naruto was starting to get angry now. He had no idea why, but some inexplicable rage was filling him, from head to toe. Then he heard the dark chuckle of the Kyuubi in his mind, and his red eyes narrowed as he realized what the fox was up to, a second tail of red chakra forming, the red energy whipping around him now. It was manipulating his emotions, using his pent up grief and rage to try and break the seal.

And he was letting it have its evil way. _'HEY! Stay outta my head, stupid fox! I'm not letting you get loose!'_

The Demon lord began to laugh as Naruto felt the grief well up in him. "**And Why should I do that? If this keeps up- **Now a _third _tail, his energy was cracking the very earth beneath him now-**"I'll be free, and then I shall have my revenge on this wretched village! And you cannot do a thing to stop-**He snarled as he felt Naruto muster up his strength, and attempt to push him back under, desperately trying to prevent the fourth tail from appearing. **"What?! Feeble human! You cannot resist my power! Now yield!"**

Naruto's head snapped up, tears still leaking from his slitted eyes. "NEVER! I won't let you destroy this village! I- He forced the third tail to retract back into the demon cloak, lessening the sinister influence of the fox-won't let you hurt my precious people! I WON'T LET YOU LAY A FINGER ON SAKURA!"

--

Her head snapped up as she heard his latest shout, and she was beginning to realize that the blond was fighting with the Kyuubi, for control of his body, as she watched the third tail of red chakra extend and retract, the energy spiking, then weakening, indicating the battle of wills.

Then he fell to his knees again with another agonized scream, holding his head in pain, beginning to mumble incoherently as he fought for his very body. "No! Get out of my-Leave-Stay out of. GET OUT!" _'Naruto...You must be in so much pain right now... I wish I could do something..._

Inner Sakura scoffed at this, the solution obvious to her. **_'DUH! You know darn well what you can do to help him! But the real question is...will you do it?' _**Sakura stiffened, her body going as rigid as a board of wood, as she realized what her other half was suggesting. "Eh?! I can't do that! It's...Its'...

**_'It's what? Name ONE good reason why you shouldn't do that! Come on! Stop making up excuses and answer me!' _**Sakura shouted at her inner self to shut it, trying to find a reason, searching her mind as Naruto argued with the fox, and she found the first few that came to mind.

"He just wants to be-

**_'ERNT! WRONG ANSWER MISSY! You KNOW that he doesn't want to be just friends!_**

"He probably doesn't-

**_'OH COME ON! That's a load of bull! He's had a crush on you since the first day you met!'_**

"But I love Sas-

Now her inner half was livid with anger, and it was evident in her voice.

_**'Who? Your beloved 'Sasuke-kun'? BAH! You're just deluding yourself! He never paid any attention to us! He always said "you're annoying", or "You need to train some more!" And he still LEFT when you told him you loved him! I don't call that love! I call it freakin obsession! In all honesty, I think you're just being a stupid little fan girl, going after the popular emo boy, and shooting down your best friend, putting poor Naruto-kun down whenever you can!'**_

"Narut-kun?! Hey! You're not-

Again she was cut off, by a smug sounding Inner Sakura.

**_'I can do whatever I please! If I want to call Naruto 'Naruto-kun', or even 'Naru-chan', what are ya gonna do about it?! Heck, if I could take over, you'd be with HIM by now! But NOOOO, you still go after the popular emo loser! Jeez, you are SOOO pathetic. Arashi was right, you are dead-weight!'_**

Sakura held her hands over her ears now, trying to blot out the words of the deceased Fuma clan member. "I AM NOT!"

**_--_**

The Kyuubi gave a triumphant laugh as Naruto began to lose the battle of wills, the dark kitsune no yoko whispering doubts into his mind. **"Foolish kit. You know as well as I do, that she's got her sights set on the Uchiha. She'll NEVER accept you as anything more than a friend." **Naruto's resolve faltered at this truth, and he hung his head, face blank his voice numb. "You're right...

The Fox chuckled, sensing that his vessel's resolve was weakening. And so he pressed more chakra into Naruto, beginning to finally get the upper hand over the stubborn blond. **"Good. I'm so glad that you've finally seen reason Now, let me out so we can punish that ignorant-**

Just then, a blur of movement tackled Naruto to the ground, pinning him by his wrists, and holding him fast, her pale eyes filled with concern as she saw his demonic appearance. She shook his as she saw his red eyes flicker back to blue, then red again, her eyes misting with tears as her now long navy blue hair hung into his face. "Naruto-kun! This isn't you! Snap out of it! Get that thing out of your head!"

It was Hinata. She had heard the screams of the anguished Chunin, and sensing the massive chakra spike, had come to see what was going on. And as soon as she saw that it was Naruto, she tackled him to the ground.

And she was beginning to regret that decision, as he began to force himself up, pushing her back, and baring his fangs in a snarlm the Kyuubi speaking through him.**"Foolish wench! He cannot hear you! He is too far gone!"**

Hinata didn't hear him, her shouted reply drowned him out. "SHUT UP! NARUTO-KUN IS STRONGER THAN YOU COULD EVER BE! HE'S KIND, STRONG, CARING, AND THAT'S WHY I LOVE HIM! SO GIVE HIM BACK RIGHT NOW! YOU STUPID DAMN FOZ! GIVE HIM BACK!Then, as if on cue the red eyes widened and changed back to blue, as Naruto's resolve hardened, fighting off the demon for a moment, and breaking through, to regain control of his body.

"Shut up! Give me back my body!" Hinata's pale eyes widened, and she shook Naruto harder,pressing him against the ground with little difficulty now. "Naruto-kun! Fight it! Don't let the Kyuubi take you over!" But the demon was far too determined to yield to this mere mortal, and Naruto groaned as he felt the fox take control over him. "Hi..na..ta...

The Hyuuga's eyes began to fill with tears as she saw him pushed under again. "Yes Naruto-kun! I'm right here! So don't let him push you down! Don't let him take over you!" Now she closed her eyes against the tears, feeling absolutely helpless, and hating it. " You said you never go back on your word! So don't let him win! Fight! I'm right here with you!"

He managed a shaky grin as she placed her hand atop his, his voice shifting between his own and the Kyuubi's now. "Be..fore...I coulda...sworn ...you... said-

She nodded her head eagerly, releasing his wrists, to clasp his whiskered face in her hands, gently but firmly. 'Yes! I said I love you! I always have, ever since the academy!"

Now Naruto's eyes changed once more, his right eye his normal blue, his right the red slitted eye of the Kyuubi, and in desperation, she grabbed him around the back, and pressed his head into her ample chest, crying her pale eyes out now, as he choked out an answer. "That's...good..to know...Hinata-chan...But...I need help... he's just to strong...

Hinata could take it no more. Going through several seals, she tried the jutsu she had seen Ino use at the Chunin exams last year, and praying to Kami it would work. "Mind Transfer Jutsu!" She would have smiled if she could, but her body slumped to the ground, as by some miracle, the hastily used technique worked, and she felt her spirit drawn into Naruto's, and headed for his seal...

--

Sakura couldn't stand it anymore, as she saw Hinata slump to the ground. _'That's it! I'm going!' _And ignoring the triumphant shout of her inner half, With tears in her emerald eyes, she leapt down from the nearby hill, her explosive jump taking her high into the air, and she angled her body feet first, so she would land right next to Naruto.

Which she did, the impact nearly breaking her legs, but she ignored the pain, grabbing him around the chest, and saying what was on her heart, sobbing as she pressed her head against his.

"Naruto! I need you here!"

Then she gave a startled eep of surprise, as Naruto wrapped his arms around her, and then she felt herself drawn out of her body, and into his...


	3. Desperate Measures

**KEEP THE VOTES COMING! KURENAI IS WINNING SO FAR! BUT I'M WAITING FOR A FEW MORE VOTES FIRST! (This MAY or may not become a harem. Give me your Yay's or Nay's is reviews, and I will determine if that should happen. But for now... Enjoy!)**

Hinata opened her eyes and found herself in a dark dank corridor, puddles of water scattered here and there. "Where am I?" She got her answer, as she heard a loud thud, followed by the whirling sound of Naruto's Rasengan, then another loud crack. "Naruto-kun! He must be fighting the Kyuubi in the seal!" And without another word, the determined Hyuuga leapt to her feet, and took off in the direction of the noise, her long hair flowing behind her as she ran, praying that she would make it in time...

_'Hang on Naruto-kun! I'm coming! Just stay alive till I get there!'_

--

Naruto coughed up blood as the fox, now in its human form, kicked him into a wall, and he felt his ribs crack from the vicious kick as the rubble fell around him, several pieces of the debris bouncing of his back, injuring him further "Ow. A couple more hits like that, and I'm done... then he leapt back up, as the man blitzed him, his red cloak flowing behind him as he charged in, a red rasengan in his left and right hand. **(For the record. The Kyuubi's human form looks like Dante from Devil May cry. And that is his name for this Fic!. He even has that nasty Gauntlet.)**

The man chuckled as he watched Naruto form a Rasengan in his hand to counter him the blue sphere completed in an instant.** "That justu? Pitiful. It'll take more than-**Then his slitted eyes narrowed as Naruto blurred behind him, ready to ramm the attack into his back, his blue eyes betraying his exhaustion, but still filled with defiance. "RASENGAN!"

Dante smirked as he brought one of his own around, the red sphere meeting blue, creating a cyclone of red and blue chakra and bringing their faces close to each other as the twin attacks battled it out, strain showing on the face of Nartuo, while Dante's slitted red eyes, and his somber face betrayed not even the slightest hint of exhaustion. **"Is this the best you can do kit?! YOU'RE PATHETIC!"**

Then he brought his other arm, the one with that nasty looking gauntlet, forward, and he smashed his second rasengan into the chest of Naruto, making a loud crack as the sphere connected with muscle and bone his face set in stone as he expanded the red sphere around the Chunin. **"Now die so I can take control!"**

--

Sakura ran through corridor after corridor, hopelessly lost in the maze, shouting for Naruto all the while, and fearing the worst as she rounded corner after corner, hearing the sounds of Dante and Naruto clashing. "Naruto! Where are-

She soon found him, as Naruto went sailing through the wall next to her, surrounded by the red chakra sphere as he shot past, and Dante hot on his heels a moment later. As he ran, he saw Sakura, and he bared his fangs in a snarl at her as he passed, slowing slightly, as he locked eyes with her. **"You had better say goodbye to him. He's about to-**

Sakura cut him off with a scream of rage, and slammed a chakra enhanced fist into his face, pouring all of her strength and chakra in her furious punch."SHUT UP! LEAVE NARUTO ALOOOOONE!" And boy, did _she sock him._

Dante had just enough time for a small smirk, before the sheer intensity of the blow sent him spinning into a wall, smashing him through it and out of sight_. 'It would appear that the Haruno isn't so weak after all..._

_--_

Naruto snarled as he twisted his body, getting himself out of the red sphere, the resulting force of his chakra slamming him into the left wall, and dazing him. But he rose to his feet, the angry scream of Sakura energizing his weary muscles, and his face filled with shock as he saw her smash the silver haired demon through a wall. "Sakura! What are you doing?! Do you have any IDEA how ticked off he's gonna be?!"

Sakura didn't hear him. That punch, had taken everything from her, and she could barely move her body now. But still, she turned and gave him a shaky smile, giving him a weak thumbs up with her left hand, as she leaned against the wall with her right, slowly walking towards him, green eyes brimming with unshed tears. "Naruto...I have.. to tell you...I-

But she never got to finish, as a second later, Dante burst through the wall, and slammed into Sakura, driving her into the opposit wall, before grabbing her by the arm, and heaving her over his shoulder, into the ground, with a loud thud. Naruto was right. He was TICKED. And it was evident in his red eyes, as he bared his fangs at her in a snarl, raising his clawed gauntlt over her face as he held her down with a booted foot. **"You little brat! Did you really think that would stop the likes of-**

Then he spun around, having sensed the presence of Hinata, who was already upon him, giving him no time to dodge, only to counterattack. But he could already tell, that some attacks were going to get through.

"Oh sh-

"8 Trigrams, 64 palms!"

And she shot forward, ready to take on the Demon, all for Naruto, who looked on in stunned awe as she fought for him. Her face betrayed nothing but seriousness, as her hands found a chakra point on his chest, and it was instantly sealed. Dante hissed in annoyance and pain, his left knee lashing out to deflect a kick from her left leg, before responding with a clawed slash aimed for her face, which she nudged aside with an elbow, the crimson claws instead slicing off a section of her navy blue hair. _'I can do this. I can do this!' _

Dodge. Counter. Block. Strike. _'As long as Naruto-kun is watching me, I can do this!' _Her Byakugan eyes letting her see every attack, every angle of his counters, as she ever so subtly nudged aside his slashes and kicks, making them miss their targets, by mere centimeters, instead tearing holes and ripping apart her sleeves and pant legs, never once drawing blood from the determined heiress. Except for one hit.

Naruto's blue eyes misted over as he saw Dante get in a good hit, nailing Hinata under the chin with an uppercut from his clawed hand, the impact snapping her head up, and a bit of blood dripped down her cheek. "Hinata...

But then her head snapped back down, and her eyes blazed with fury as she began a spin, using her Kaiten, and instantly the blue dome appeared around her, forcing Dante to back off as her chakra defense whipped at him, giving him a small cut on his cheek, which instantly healed. **"My my, aren't you a feisty one! That's even better for me!" **A lustful look appeared in his eyes as he spoke, and bared his fangs in an evil smile. **"I like it when a girl puts up a fight-BEFORE I TAKE HER!"**

Hinata's pale eyes narrowed as she saw him come, right as she finished her spin, knowing that she was leaving an opening, as the evil man adavanced on her, a wickedly sharp black sword appearing in his right hand as he stalked forward. **"You may be good with Taijutsu, but lets see how you are with-**

"Rasengan!"

Dante hissed in surprise as he felt the chakra sphere dig into his skin.**"Impudent kit! You've already tried that! It-**Hinata shot forward, her hands glowing with chakra, only for Dante to backhand her in the head with the massive hilt of his dark blade, driving her down into the ground, unconscious, next to Sakura as he went on. -**"Won't work on me! I know you're every move!" **Then the grimace of pain faded, replaced by a psychotic smile, as the blue sphere around him faded, his body having simply dispelled the attack with his own chakra. Naruto was in stunned shock as his attack faded, and the distraction cost him. "No way-

A second later, Dante grinned wickedly, and brought his blade forward, driving the large weapon into Naruto's arm, sticking it in as Naruto cried out in pain. **"Get lost brat! I will deal with you later!"**then heaving the sword, Chunin and all into the far wall at the end of the corridor, effectively removing him from the fight for the time being. The demon lord grinned as he turned to face Hinata, only for Sakura's fist to shoot up and catch him under the chin, in an uppercut.

He didn't even flinch, and merely stomped her hard and repeatedly on the chest, his face demonic as he bared his fangs at her, savoring her cries of pain from each stomp. **"Weakling! I think I'll kill you instead! Now- **He raised his clawed hand back, and a massive rasengan shone red within it, illuminating them all with its crimson glow. **"DIE!"**

**--**

Naruto's eyes blearily opened, the red glow awakening him, and leaving him dazed.

Until he saw what Dante was about to do. "SAKURAAAAA!"

The sight of Sakura in trouble, had invigorated the blond, and he ripped the blade out of his arm and heaved it to the floor, Dante having not heard it over the roar of his rasengan. _'NO! I WON'T LET YOU TOUCH HER!'_ With a roar of intense hatred and rage, he got to his feet, and began making hand signs. _'The only way to beat him, one who knows all MY moves, is..to use one of...Sasuke's. I don't have a choice though!' _Then he held his hand down, palm open and facing the earth, as he grabbed that hand by the wrist. And slowly, sparks began to dance about his hand, and as he began to pour his chakra into the technique. _'Come on! Hurry up!'_Then, as if in response, the chakra burst into life, crackling in his hand, with the sounds of a thousand chirping birds, the sheer intensity of his chakra burning away the rubble beside him.

His blue eyes blazed with blue fire, indicating his intense anger, and he stepped forward, slowly, then faster, faster, until he tore forward, his hand crackling with energy as he dragged it against the wall. "DANTEEEE! DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HERE!" But this was not the chakra of the rasengan. It was chirping loudly as it continued to grow, Naruto's rage giving him a nearly limitless amount of power.

He screamed his fury, and leapt high into the air now, raising the crackling chakra over his head, and his scream FINALLY getting the attention of Dante, whose head snapped up know, a shocked look on his face as Naruto screamed out the name of his technique. Kaskashi's one and only original jutsu. The one he had taught Sasuke, and the one that, until now, Naruto had been unable to use.

"CHIDORI!"


	4. Last Resort

**Okay guys! Here we go. Its getting close! Kurenai is ahead of Hinata and Sakura by only TWO votes! Ooh! I can't wait to chooses who I'll pair him with! AND ANOTHER THING! I AM SCRAPPING BLOSSOMS OF LOVE AND WRITING A NEW ONE. I'LL STILL LEAVE UP THE OLD ONE, BUT I'M MAKING ANOTHER ONE. I'M CALLING IT... Love Blooms Late**

Dante whipped his head around, bringing his gauntled arm, the one that held the massive Rasengan, around with him as he heard the chirping chakra, a feral grin on his tan face as he saw Naruto high above him, his black and orange sleeves burning away from the sheer intensity of the attack, exposing the tan skin of his arms. **What do we have here? I never knew about THIS. Since when did you master the technique of Hatake? Its not in my memory whatsoever."**

Naruto didnt answer. Instead, he allowed the force of his jump, to bring him up to the ceiling, feet-first. For a moment, he hung there, like a bat, then once his feet hit it, he pushed off with all his might, and rocketed off the ceiling, shooting down towards his enemy like an orange missile, hellbent on ending this struggle once and for all. "YOU STUPID FOX! I'M PUTTING AN END TO THIS HERE AND NOW!"

Dante smirked as he raised his Rasengan in front of him, tensing his legs, and preparing to spring up at Naruto. **"Fine kit. I'll gladly send you to the next world, so I an have this body for my own!" **Then, faster than the eye could see, He blurred forward, and smashed his Rasengan through the blazing chakra, turning it to harmless vapor, and forcing Naruto to duck back, or get his head blown off, and lucky for him, he did duck, throwing his head back, just as the sphere whirled through where his head had been mere moments before. "DARN IT!"

But surprisingly, Dante made no effort to finish him off, and instead pulled back. Instead he waited, allowing his vessel to land on the ground and spring backward, a pained expression on his face as he made the seals again, knowing that if this one didn't work, he was done for. Dante knew it too, and grinned as he increased the size of his Rasengan, the orb now turning a purplish red. **"That's right. Put your heart and soul into it. For after this, there will be only one. One will go to hell, and the other shall claim this body as his own."**

He swept his free hand around, in an all encompassing gesture, taking in the girls as the rose to their fee, only for Sakura to cough up blood and fall back, Hinata stopping her own rise to help her friend get up. **"And that shall be- **Then his eyes narrowed as he watched the Chidori burst into life in Naruto's hand, and turned from blue to black a moment later. **"What is this? You're up to something...**

--

Naruto's mind was surprisingly calm as his mind ran through various scenario's all but one of them ending in his death. _'That one, it just might work_...

And so, he began to form the proper mindset for this REALLY desperate plan._'Focus.This is MY mind. I cannot lose here. Whatever I want to happen-_

His chidori crackled black now, in a familiar sinister energy, his skin turning dark, making Hinata's pale eyes go wide in shock. "Naruto-kun...What are you doing?" And Sakura gasped as his outfit changed, beginning to resemble that of...Sasuke his orange shirt fading away to become that of Sasuke's blue t-shirt, his long pants becoming those white shorts. _"What is going on here?! He's starting to look like-_

Naruto was hoping that this would work, as his hair turned dark, and grew out, becoming wild and unruly, as two giant wings burst from his back, tearing open the fabric of the blue shirt as they stretched themselves out, left and right, the large hand like appendages brsuhing against the walls, as they grew out of Naruto's back, making him wince in pain from forcing them out.

_'IT WILL HAPPEN!'_

Then his head snapped up, revealing a pair of blazing Sharingan eyes, all three comas within the red orbs. He now looked exactly like an older version of Sasuke's second cursed seal form, having used his very mind to temporarily change himself into the Uchiha, hoping that his memory would serve him well enough to catch Dante off guard.

Sakura recognized his voice, as he spoke, and it confused the heck out of her, as she heard the voice of Sasuke. "Naruto...What did you do...

--

But in addition to this, he also felt the insanity of his former friend, AND the pain of the cursed seal that was not his own. And it lit his body afire with waves of pain and agony, as the forbidden power coursed through him. _'Wow. Now wonder that teme won. This is a rush.._. But then he shook his head to clear his mind of such thoughts. He couldn't let himself drown in power. He couldn't do this a second time. He clutched his forehead in pain with his free hand covering his left eye in the proccess, speaking with the the voice of Sasuke. "Darn it. It don't have much time. Gotta hurry. For Hinata...

Then his black chidori crackled with power, and his wings slapped themselves against the ground, pushing him off into the air, and slowly raising him up. For a moment, he just hung there, allowing his new wings to hold him up, as he neared the ceiling. Then he tucked them against his side, and pushed off of the ceiling for the second time, tearing down once more, eyes blazing as he screamed towards his opponent. "FOR SAKURAAAAA!"

The Haruno felt her heart skip a beat as she heard Naruto, speaking with the voice of Sasuke, her green emerald eyes filling with tears. "He's doing this for me...

The her emerald eyes narrowed as she saw Dante put his normal hand behind his back, and Hinata hissed in anger as a Rasengan began to grow in it. "That cheating little-

But before the Hyuuga could rush in, Sakura tore forward, screaming at the top of her lungs, and grabbing Dante's hidden arm an instant later, holding it tightly behind his back. Needless to say, the Demon lord did not like that. Still focused on Naruto, who had now crashed into the earth, tearing towards him, leaving a scar in the wall, deciding that a ground assault was better. **"Begone." **Then Sakura cried out in pain as she felt the rasengan directed toward her, and tightened her grip on him as it burried itself into her side, waves of agony shooting through her as it burned in. "NEVER! NEVER AGAIN! I WON'T RUN AWAY LIKE A USELESS DEADWEIGHT! I WILL NOT!"

Dante hissed in annoyance, at her sudden defiance, but then Naruto was upon him, thrusting his chakra covered arm forward, as the Sharignan eyes of Sasuke faded away, restoring the normal blue of his own, and an instant later, Dante had to act, being forced to ignore Sakura for now. _'You little brat! I'll make you pay for this later!'_

"CHIDORIIIIIIII!!"

Dante snarled in anger as he brought the gauntlet forward, purple Rasengan held within it, prepared to end this once and for all.

**"RASENGAAAAAAAAAN!"**

Then, just as it had been in the Valley of the End, the two attacks met, Naruo's dark blue chakra whipping around him, as did Dante's red an all too familiar sphere forming about them, just like in Naruto's last clash with Sasuke. But this time, it was not for friendship. It was not for camaraderie. This was an all or nothing attack. Winner gets to live, loser goes to the next life.

And they met with an explosive crash, their chakra whipping around them, blue against red, forming one chakra, a dark purple, Sakura still restraining Dante as the black sphere began to form about them. Naruto grimaced in fierce pain as he pushed forward, forcefully grinding the dark chakra of the Chidori against the purple of the Rasengan, and gaining a minute advantage. But Dante wasn't done either. He too pushed forward, his purple orb pushing the black crackling chakra backwards, and stealing the advantage away from Naruto. **"Give it up boy! You will not triumph over one as mighty as me!"**

He laughed aloud as he felt Sakura dig a kunai into his arm, the pain nothing to one as powerful as him. **"Aw, how touching. She's fighting to save you. I guess she isnt' _that _much of a dead-weight." **Naruto gasped as his blue eyes finally noticed Sakura, having been too absorbed in the struggle with Dante to see her before. "Sakura! What the hell are you doing back there?! Get away from him!"

Dante grimaced as his Rasengan faded, Sakura still clinging to his arm, preventing him from using it, OR increasing the power of his current Rasengan. **"That would not be wise for you kit. As soon as she releases my arm, she knows that I'll easily kill-**

Then his red eyes widened in shock , as Sakura shifted her weight, and ANOTHER Sakura, this one an exact duplicate of her, but clad in a black version of her outfit, grabbed the gauntlted arm, the one holding the Rasengan, and attempted to pull it away, giving Naruto a chance to push forward again, which he took, but his gaze was focused on this new Sakura, who was kicking the head of Dante, as she tried to pull his arm away. "What?! TWO Sakura's?! Who the heck are YOU?!"

That question was directed to Inner Sakura, who briefly looked up at him and smiled, then focused her attention on Dante again, pulling her long leg back to prevent him from biting it, before booting him in the nose, and drawing a little blood. "I'm Sakura! Who do ya think I am? Jeez Naruto-kun, you can be so goofy sometimes...

Naruto was hopelessly confused now, so he just focused on Dante, who was starting to weaken from being attacked at three places at once, his tone cocky as he spoke. "AHA! You're gonna lose Dante! Now just give up and die already!" The red eyes of the demon flashed red, and he roared his defiance. **"NEVER! Do you really think that I will yield to the likes of you?!" **Then with a snarl, he yanked his arm free of Sakura for a moment, and used it to chuck Inner Sakura off him.

However, two unexpected things happened. First, in his rage he forgot that the Sakura look alike was still holding onto his arm, so when he tried to pull her off, he pulled his arm back a bit. And he had forgotten about Hinata. And speaking of said Hyuuga, the navy haired girl chose that moment to dive into the sphere, and ram her body into his, making im stagger back a bit, as he threw Inner Sakura off of him...

And right into Naruto.

The Uzumaki never saw her coming, but surprisingly when she was thrown at him, she passed into him...

And was gone.

Naruto cocked an eyebrow at this, but then he saw both Hinata and Sakura struggling to hold Dante back, the Haruno holding up the arm with the Rasengan while Hinata had grabbed his free arm to further restrain him. And then he was REALLY weirded out, as he heard the voice of Sakura in his head, the Haruno chastising him for not moving.

_'HELLO! Earht to Naruo-kun! Get in there and finish him off!' _

Deciding to ask questions later, the now blond again Uzumaki tore forward, Now wearing his regular clothes again, and he shouted for Sakura and Hinata to move, which they did, just as he was on Dante, who had no time to do anything, as the dark chakra rammed into his chest.

"CHIDORIIIII!"


	5. Triumph

**Okay. Despite the poll, I have decided on the pairing. But there's gonna be a _nasty_twist... Ya won't see it yet, and don't worry ya'll. Kurenai is about to make her grand entrance!**

Dante's red eyes widened as the dark chidori rammed itself into his chest, shock plastered all over his face. **_'Impossible! How did he-_**then he roared in pain as wave upon wave of pain and agony coursed through him, the dark chakra slowly burning into his chest as Naruto shoved the attack into him. But still he glared down defiantly at Naruto, eyes lethal and deadly with fury as he roared, voice twisted with pain. **"AAAAAGH! You wretched brat! This won't be enough to kill the likes of me!" **

Naruto's blue eyes widened as he saw Dante raise his clawed hand over his head, ready to rend the boy in two, his voice murderous, his face twisted in pain as he spoke. **"DIE INSECT!" **

Then the clawed hand came down, and Naruto closed his eyes, bracing himself for the end...

But it did not come. Instead...he felt blood on his face, the red liquid landing on his cheek. _'Oh no. Don't tell me-_And his eyes snapped open at the realization, widening in horror as he saw who had stopped the attack. "NOOOO! Why did you-

It was Hinata. The Hyuuga had thrown herself in front of Naruto, determined to save him, and as a result, there was now a large gash running down her stomach, the blood beginning to pool beneath her, with every drop of crimson. The Hyuuga coughed up blood, then looked over her shoulder at Naruto, who was horrified as he saw the hazy look in her eyes, her knees beginning to buckle as Dante raised his hand again. "Naruto-kun...I...did...it...for...you...don't...die...please...

Then, the demon lord grinned ferally, voice murderous as he prepared to bring it down again, Naruto's chidori still slowly burining into his chest, the chunin unable to help Hinata, for to do so, he would have to break off his attack, and he could NOT do that. It would doom the both of them. **"That was foolish. But fear not. I'll send you to the next world, along with-**

"CHAAAA! GET THE HELL AWAY FROM HIM!"

And an instant later, a super ticked Sakura charged back in, and latched onto his clawed hand, pulling with all her might, and keeping him from delivering the final blow to the two. Dante had had just about enough, and in response, raised his other hand, a rasengan swirling within it. **"Hands off that! You're not-URK!" **Then his face froze, his entire body went rigid, stiff as a board, as Sakura gave a monumental effort, shouting aloud as a vein popped out of her forehead, and slowly began to pull off the gauntlet, slowly exposing the hand beneath, as a normal one, the skin pale from being hidden by the clawed metal for so long.

Then to make matters worse for him, he suddenly, and inexplicably found himself tied into a tree, his gauntleted arm the only thing that was free, Naruto's chidori finally starting to hurt even more, as he watched his feet burn away, the chakra fueled by intense rage, powerful grief, and Dante found himslef powerless to escape as he struggled to get out of the branches. No good. **"What the devil is this?! I demand that you release me at once!"**

But much to his surprise, he was not released. Instead, a teen clad in white wrappings appeared next to Sakura, and placed her hands on the gauntlet, helping the Haruno yank on the stubborn metal, Sakura's eyes going wide as she recognized the Jonin, who was only a year older than her and Naruto."Kurenai-sensie? How did you- The Jonin gave her a quick glance, her red eyes meeting Sakura's green, then her crimson gaze fell to Naruto, who looked just as shocked to see her. "I'll explain-

Then with a loud pop, the gauntlet was yanked off, and the Jonin crossed the small distance between Naruto and Hinata, holding the clawed hand metal in her left hand. "Naruto, I apologize for this." And before he could ask what she was doing, she slid the dripping metal onto his free hand, and Naruto shouted in surprise as he felt the flesh of his hand tugged at by the metal "OW! What is this thing-

And Dante paled as he watched Naruto's appearance change to match his, minus those blood red eyes, and his hair stayed yellow, instead of white, and his outfit was white instead of black. Now he glared daggers at Kurenai, who was ignoring him, whilst she tended to Hinata's stomach wound. "**Fool! You know not what you are doing! Stop this at once!"**

But it was enough, for Naruto, and he screamed in fury, determined to end this so he could save Hinata, never letting up for a minute, as the disintegration spread up past his knees, slowly eating away Dante's legs, the look alike's attack devouring him. "You'll pay. YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS! I AM TAKIN OVER!!" Dante's legs were gone now, as was his stomach-"And now, YOU will have to listen to me!"

Dante roared his defiance as gauntlet was placed on Naruto's arm. **"NO! THAT IS NOT YOURS! RETURN THAT TO ME AT ONCE!" **Naruto smiled as he watched Dante's chest burn away...and his hands started to next. "Wrong Dante. You're not the boss anymore." He grinned evilly as his body returned to normal, and nodded to Sakura, who stepped back, just as Dante's neck dissapeared. "Now...BEGONE!"

--

Naruto dropped to his knees, the instant the enraged demon burned away, promising vengeance for this defeat. Then he leapt back up to his feet a second later, the voice of Sakura echoing in his head again. _"CHA! Thatta boy Naruto-kun! I couldn't haved done better! You dominated!' _Naruto finally decided to address's the unfamiliar presence in his head, as rose to his feet, and staggered over to Hinata, whose wound was nearly healed by Kurenai, his appearance returning to normal, as the gauntlet shown brightly on the right arm of its new master. "Okay you. Spill it. What are you, and how are you in my head?"

Now the voice of Sakura took on a physical manifestation, appearing next to him in a ghostly silhouette, as the blond took Hinata in his arms, and gently shook her. "I'm so close...And yet so far... I can see you-She reached out a hand for his shoulder, and her eyes misted over as it passed right through, the ability to touch currently beyond her, for reasons that will be explained later-But I can't touch you. I want to grab you in my arms, and tell you how much I really do love you, but I-

A tear fell from her face as she faded back into the mind of her new vessel, unwilling to stay out any longer, not wanting to go mad from grief, fading away as she spoke to him. "I can only talk to you for now. I can only look at you. But I want to do so much more...

--

Naruto gently shook Hinata as Kurenai released the Hyuuga, having fully healed her wound. "Oi. Hinata-chan. Wake up. It's me." And a second later, just as her eyes opened, they left the seal...

--

Hinata weakly opened her pale eyes to see the blue eyes of Naruto staring down at her. And as soon as he saw her open them, he wrapped her in a fierce hug, making her face turn a pale pink, as he held her for a moment, before releasing her, to grab her by the shoulders and shake her gently, chastising her lightly for what she did. "Baka! You could have died! What on earth were you thinking?!" Hinata smiled at him as he spoke to her, not hearing a word he was sayinfg until he mentioned the part about her admitting her feelings for him. "Look, Hina-chan, I'm not rejecting you or nothing- His gaze turned to Sakura, who was just now stirring, then back to her. "I just need to some time to clear my head, okay?"

Hinata gave him a firm nod, hoping that he would make the right choice. "Sure Naruto-kun. Just do what your heart tells you." Kurenai sighed as she tucked a strand of black hair behind one ear, leaning up against a tree, and taking note that Naruto was still wearing Dante's gauntlet, as he shook Sakura. "Then I', sorry to say this, but Hinata, you're not the only one after him...

Naruto was going to have a LOT of thinking to do...


	6. The Wound of the Heart

**Prepare for the tear jerker...**

Sakura blearily opened her eyes to see Naruto's saphire blue staring down at her, her voice hesitant as he blurred in and out of focus. "Naruto...

She saw that the blue orbs were full of worry, but it vanished as soon as he saw her awaken, to be replaced with relief, and it was evident in his voice. "Sakura-chan! You're alright! You had me worried sick!" Now the Haruno was taken aback by his cheerful reply, but shook it off, as he reached out a hand for her...the one with the gauntlet.

Instintively she shrank back from it, but Naruto nodded his head in understanding while Inner Sakura, now residing inside him, berated her former host for her skittishness. _'Jeez! Show some backbone will ya?!' _Naruto shushed the angry girl, and flexed his clawed hand a smile on his face as Sakura looked up at him. "See? We beat Dante. So as long as I wear this, he has to listen to ME."

Then, she wasn't given the option of refusing the hand, as Naruto reached down and pulled her up, his hand gently holding hers, as he looked down at her, holding on as she tried to pull her hand out of his grip. "Sakura." The dead seriousness of his voice stopped her cold, and she stopped trying to pull away. "Y-Yes?"

Now Naruto's ocean blue eyes held a hint of sadness, as Hinata and Kurenai approached him, The blond hoping that Sakura would be honest with him as he asked her about the one thing that had been nagging him, ever since Dante cut her off, by tackling her. "Sakura-chan. What were you going to tell me earlier?" Now the poor girl knew EXACTLY what he was talking about, and opened her mouth to speak, as he took her other hand in his own.

But then she hesitated, unsure of herself once more, and her Inner self not there to persuade her now.

"I-er... it was nothing."

Naruto would not be dissuaded that easily, his eyes narrowing now. She HAD said something, and to him, it WAS something. "Sakura, tell me. I KNOW you were going to say something. So spit it out!" She winced at his angry and hurt tone, knowing that he had a pretty good idea of what she was going to say. But he needed to hear her say it. To HIM. And try as she might, she just couldn't bring herself to say it. She just wasn't sure enough with all these emotions whirling through her. And so, yanking a hand free, she did the first thing that came to her flustered mind.

Violence.

She punched him. Hard, and right in the face, her fist digging into his right cheek, as the surprised Chunin took the hit full force to his face, a wave of pain coursing through him as the hit drew blood, the wound healing up almost instantly, his eyes going wide. And yet, he didn't budge an inch...Just like Dante. Instead, he heard the voice of said demon in his head, telling him to beat her down, to just take her against her will.

**"No one should treat you like that kit! Teach her a lesson! Make HER feel your pain! You KNOW you want to...**. And oh, right now, at this very moment, it was sooooooo tempting. He really didn't hate Sakura, but the Haruno simply had no _idea _how much emotional pain she put him through on a daily basis. And to make matters worse, she was having mixed feelings towards him know, almost making him believe that she deserved to suffer, for twisting his heart like this.

--

But Naruto was not that kind of person, and before Dante could tell him otherwise, Inner Sakura muffled his voice out, silencing him, as she instinctively clamped a hand over his mouth, and restrained him, momentarily forgetting that she couldn't touch. But she could now, and she was amazed by this. "Hey! Since when did this...

--

Naruto looked down at Sakura, and her heart shattered at the look he was giving her. It wasn't one of anger, like she had expected, it was one of incredible sadness, of _hurt. _There were tears pooling over in his deep blue eyes, and just as Sakura thought the couldn't fill up any more, the poured down his cheeks, like water let loose from a dam, and his body started shaking with sobs, prompting Hinata to run over to him, fearing that Dante might surface again. But this time, thanks to the gauntlet, he did not lose control. Although, right now, he would have preferred to fight Dante himself, than feel this pain. If he was in a fight, he could forget his sadness and grief, and instead focus on smashing his opponent into the ground.

But there was no one for him to fight, and nothing to hold back his grief, as he choked back a sob, pulling her fist away from his face, and feeling like he just wanted to roll over and die, and it was more than evident in his voice, as the tears dripped down, his head hung low as he released her wrist, mumbling out the words. "Sakura...Why?"

Then his head snapped up, and his blue eyes were filled with confusion and grief, his deeper voice screaming at her for an answer as he had to physically restrain himself from smacking her in the face, and a heartbroken Sakura took a step forward, only for him to take a step back, his arms spread wide as Hinata wrapped her arms around his waist, and he gave her a kind glance, before he screamed at Sakura, right to her face. "NO! WHY WON'T YOU BE HONEST WITH ME?! YOU ARE NEEEEEVEEEER EVEEEEER HONEST WITH MEEEEEEE! I HATE THAT!"

Then he could take it no more, and in a swirl of leaves, he disappeared, wanting to get as far away from here as possibe, and leaving Hinata behind, whi felt like cyring herself after seeing that, and with _vicious _glare at Sakura, she ran off after him, leaving Sakura alone with Kurenai, who shook her head as she began to talk to the distraught girl. "Sakura, you really have to learn to control yourself...

--

Naruto was bawling his eyes out as he ran to the only place were he knew he could be alone. The stone Hokage faces. And thanks to his grief stricken speed, he was there in an instant. And as he stood atop the stone face of Sarutobi, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Thinking it was Sakura, he whirled around, to find himself face to face with _Inner Sakura, _The look alike still exactly like the real thing, except for the fact that her clothing was all black.

Then Naruto noticed that her hand was ON his shoulder, and not phasing through it. The an instant later, he was wrapped in a tight hug by her, and she rested her head on his chest, Naruto still scarcely believing that she was here." How did-Why can-HUH?!" Inner Sakura smiled softly as she reached out for his hand, making his eyes widen as he felt her now warm hand in his own, not believing what she was saying."Naruto-kun. The only reason I'm here like this, is because you touched Sakura." A tear leaked down her tan face, and then his, as he realized what that meant. "And I don't think this will last."

Naruto quickly counted off the minutes that he had touched Sakura. It was about five. So he did the only thing he could do. He pulled her head up from his chest, speaking rapidly. "You have five minutes before you have to go back inside my head. Let's...make them count."

Sakura got the hint, and with all the love that she and the REAL her had, pressed her lips against his, wrapping her arms around his neck, and breaking the kiss to start another, as he tilted his head to the right, the two of them pouring all of their sadness and frustration into their kisses, as they lips broke for more again and again, Sakura gving off a whimper as Naruto wrapped his arms around her waist, and held her tight, the minutes flying buy, the precious time lost. _'Oh Kami...Please don't make her go...Give me more time..._

But his watch beeped, and the broke the kiss, as he saw that the had ten seconds left. Sakura started to cry as soon as she saw the timer, and Naruto reached out to dry her tears, his hand soaked from the flow of sad water, and he SWORE that he was never going to was this hand again.

5.

"Naruto-kun! I don't want to go back! I want to- she leapt forward, holding him tight-

4

-stay like this forever!"

3.

Naruto nodded rapidly, not wanting this to end." Me neither! So I have to say it now! Sakura-chan. I love you!"

2

Her green eyes widened , filling with tears of joy as she pulled him forward, voice filled with unfiltered love-

1

"And I love you. I love you so much-

0

Just as their lips were about to meet, she turned transparent once more, and he passed through her. He knew this was going to happen, but that didn't mean he was happy about it. With a scream of rage, he drove his fist into the ground, the sheer force of the punch nearly breaking his hand, which healed immediately. "NOOOOO! I HATE THIS!" Sakura smiled sadly waved goodbye, as she was forced to go back inside him, or risk losing her very existence. "Bye Naruto-kun, I'll always be in your head, so listen for me when you're lonely...

And then she was gone, and Naruto was all alone again.

His screams of grief and anguish were heard throughout the village.

"DAAAAAAAAMN IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!"


	7. The Healing of a Heart

**THE PAIRING SHALL BE: (DRUM ROLL) NARUXHINAXKUREXSAKU! JA NE! THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR THE VOTES!**

Naruto groaned as he sank to his knees, fighting the desire to just throw himself of off the Stone faces, and smash himself into the earth. "NO! Why does this always happen?! Why me?!" He openly wept into the stone, and Dante sighed within him as he watched his vessel's grief, then looked over his shoulder from where he was chained, the shackles on his wrists clinking as he turned see a miserable looking Sakura fade into view. **"Imbeciles...**

Naruto hissed in anger as he heard the voice of the Demon in his head. "SHADDUP! I don't want to hear your sick voice!" In response, the fox snarled back at him, voice filled with disdain. **"Fine. Then I won't tell you how to spend more time with your precious Sakura...**

Naruto's eyes snapped open, and he immediately saw the logic in this, but he was suspicious. "Hold it. Why are you helping me? What's in it for you?" The Dark lord chuckled, voice sinister as ever. **"Simple. I want you to take off thant gauntlet, for just a second." **Naruto shook his head back and forth, not liking THAT idea at all, tone vehemently disagreeing. "No way! You're gonna screw with my body if I take it off!"

The fox sighed, not really caring either way, knowing that Naruto was bound to give in, because of his fierce crush, that had turned into fully bloomed love. He would come. In time.**"Fine then. Suit yourself...**

**--**

Naruto held his head in one hand as walked through the woods now, trying to get somewhere, anywhere, than where he was now, telling himself that the information was NOT worth the risk of removing his gauntlet, even if it was for just a second. And he only had Inner Sakura's warning to move. _"Incoming! Slam on the brakes Naruto-kun!" _And he did, just as Hinata leapt down from a nearby branch, and nearly ran smack dab into him, her feet digging into the ground as she finally found him, and trying her best not to bowl him over

The two skidded to a halt, and Hinata gave a small bow as she stopped in front of him, then saw the saddened look on his face, causing her to tenderly place her hand on his right whiskered cheek, her touch tender and loving, which was something he desperately needed right now, after his brief time with Sakura. That had left him happy, but hollow, as he knew that she wanted to hold him longer, and had been forcefully taken- Then the realization hit him like a lightning bolt. _"AHA! That's it! If I keep physical contact with Sakura, then Sakura-chan can stay here longer!' _"N-Naruto-kun, are you okay?"

Hinata's words snapped him out of his reverie, and as he gazed down at her, just realizing something as he saw the worried look in her eyes. She loved him. Sure, she had told him, but his mind had been somewhere else, fending off Dante. And speaking of said demon, she had fought like one, all to keep him from being hurt...

Naruto frowned at this realization, and placed his hand over hers for a moment, making Hinata's pale eyes widen as a conflicted Naruto simply didn't know what to do at all. But lucky for him, Inner Sakura chose that exact moment to chime in. _"Go ahead Naruto-kun. I can't expect to have you all to myself. But just remember this. Its gonna be REALLY hard keeping a constant touch on Sakura. Just a reminder."_

But he hesitated, caught between his conflicting emotions now. _'But I'd be cheating on you! That's wrong! I can't stab you in the back like-_

He heard her giggle in his mind, and he REALLY wished she was beside him now, longing for the feeling of her hand in his. _"Naruto-kun. I know how much it hurts you to keep yourself from doing the wrong thing sometimes. But this time, its okay. I love you. I want YOU to be happy. We'll figure out something for Sakura later. Then I'll prove to you how much I still love you. Besides, I can see that its killing you to hold back. Its alright. I WANT you to let go. Live. Be happy.For me..._

Naruto mentally nodded as he felt her fade from his mind, missing her already. _'Okay..._

Then he opened his eyes, which he had closed ever since Hinata had placed her hand against his cheek. And when he opened them, he saw the tears in her pale eyes, worried sick about him now, and he realized why, as he finally noticed the tears on his own face. He had been crying the whole time while he was conversing with Inner Sakura.

So he gently let go of her hand, and let himself go, his voice sounding broken now, and none of it was false, a miserable expression on his face. "No, I'm not okay Hina-chan. I'm alone. So very alone. And It hurts. It hurts really badly." For what seemed like the millionth time that day, he choked back a sob, and Hinata felt her eyes brim with more tears as she saw the effort it took. _'Naruto-kun, you're in so much pain..._

And that decided it for her. Reaching out for him, she took both of his hands in her own, controlling her blush to a pale pink as she spoke, her voice soft as silk as she inched towards him. "You don't have to. You don't have to be all alone. I'm right here. I've always been right here, and I always will be. I've just been waiting for you to acknowledge that."

Naruto felt the tears pour down his face again, and he cursed himself for his weakness. "Not again! All I ever seem to do today is cry!" But Now Hinata was crying to, and it made him feel just a little bit better. She smiled brightly, as the tears poured out of her lavender eyes, now reaching up with both hands to attempt the boldest thing in her life.

"It's okay to cry, Naruto-kun. Sometimes, its good just t-to let everything out. Then you feel better."

His face continued to near hers, and he found himself paralyzed, unable, and paritally unwilling to move as their noses now brushed against each other, Hinata slowly pulling him forward, her face beet red now, as she fought to keep herself from fainting. But then, a second before their lips touched, HE moved his head forward, and pressed his lips against hers, unable to restrain himself from kissing her for any longer. _"I hope Sakura-chan meant what she said..._

--

Sakura sighed as she opened the door to her room, and buried her head in her pillow, emotionally exhausted, and feeling terrible. She HAD to find him tomorrow, and clean up her mess, Kurenai's warning ringing clear in her head. _'You had better tell him how you really feel, before he really does give you up. After all, you have me and Hinata as competition. I wish you luck..._

"Naruto. Tomorrow, I swear I'll fix EVERYTHING.

--

As soon as their lips met, fireworks went off in Hinata's head, as she got the one thing she had always wanted, but NEVER thought would actually happen. She got her first kiss. From Naruto Uzumaki. Pale lavender eyes met ocean, sapphire blue, and for a moment, they didn't move. But then Naruto did, and slowly moved his lips, to cover hers, making her give off a soft whimper, releasing her hands from his, to wrap them around his neck, her eyes slowly closing as she savored the moment, his own orbs following suit soon after, as he shakily wrapped his arms around her waist.

She slowly moved him up against the trunk of an old oak tree, gently pressing herself against him, acting on instinct, this being her first kiss and all, and her mind filled with cheery thoughts, _'I did it! Naruto-kun kissed me! Yes!' _as she raised a hand, Naruto mirroring the action, and intertwining his fingers with hers, their hands resting against the old bark, the tears finally stopping, as he angle dhis head to the left, and deepened the kiss, his free arm gently around her waist, his hand pressed against her back.

And Naruto's heart slowly began to heal.

For now...


	8. A Fateful Decision

Naruto's mind was filled with intense happiness as he felt Hinata press herself firmly against him now, obviously not wanting to let him go from their kiss, her very first kiss. Wanting to open his eyes, he did so, and he found her own pale orbs opening at the exact same moment his did, the moonlight shining down on her, making her seem like an angel, as she gave another soft whimper, her fingers curling gently around his own.

And that did it. Naruto knew in that moment, that he didn't want this feeling to EVER go away, and so he made up his mind right then and there, amused at this unexpected boldness from the normally shy Hyuuga, as she broke the kiss, only to press her lips against his again, wanting him to respond to her feelings for him.

Which he did, as he pulled away for air, only to openly kiss her back, a light pink blush on their cheeks as the two slowly kissed, enjoying each other as their lips slowly moved over the others not caring if someone should come by and see their display. Naruto certainly didn't care about that right now. _'Wow... I'm falling for Hinata. Never thought that would happen. Not that I mind..._

_--_

A second later, they were both forced to pull their lips apart, and suck in large gasps of air, the two of them breathing heavily, their heads resting on each other's their foreheads seemingly glued together. Naruto managed to recover himself first, and pulled back slightly, to wrap his arms around Hinata, and pull her into his chest, tears happiness leaking down his face now, as he placed his chin atop her navy blue hair, closing his eyes as he did so, his voice barely a whisper as he leaned back now fully resting against the ancient ark of the large tree, the moon gone now, and the darkness covering them, making the two of them barely visible. "Thanks Hina-hime. I'm sorry I've kept you waiting for so long. And its good to know that it hasn't made you love me any less."

The Hyuuga nearly fainted from the affectionate nickname, but somehow remained conious, a wide smile beginning to grow on her face as she wrapped her own amrs around his back, getting the _second _thing she had always wanted to hear from him. The vocal declaration that she was his girlfriend. Now her own voice lacked her usual shyness, as she rested her head against his toned chest, listening to the steady thump of his heartbeat, closing her eyes, and praying that this wasn't a dream.

_'If it is, then I never want to wake up.' _But she knew that it was NOT a dream, and that emboldened her further, her tone soft and full of love for the blod as she spoke, pale eyes still closed. "That's okay Naruto-kun. I would have waited for as long as it took, just to experience this moment, here with you."

Naruto nodded as he pulled himself away, locking his blue eyes with Hinata;s plae laveneder. "Then I'll make up for that. I guess I was just a stupid little kid before, not realizing that you had a crush on me. But now I can say, without a doubt...I.Love.You."

Hinata pumped her fist into the air, and beamed happily at him as she accidentally spoke aloud, a happy expression on her face. "YES! You said it!" Then her eyes locked with is again, and she clamped a hand over her mouth, her entire face turning a bright pink, and she was_ praying_ that no one else had been around to hear that. And Naruto burst into laughter a moment later, his sides shaking with mirth, the first expression of _real _happiness, since Inner Sakura had been forced to go back inside him, making Hinata's blush quickly fade away, a small smile on her face, glad that she could make him happy. "What's with that? You look really silly when you copy-

Then he bit his lip as he remembered _who _she was copying, his face twisting in pain as he heard Sakura apologize in his head. _'Sakura-chan..._

Hinata immediately saw the look on his face, and lowered her upheld fist, face falling, as she realized what she had just done. She had hurt him, reminded him of Sakura. She had reawakened the sadness in his wounded heart. "Naruto-kun, I'm-

He cut her off, as he shook his head, raising a hand, ruffling her smooth blue hair, a smile on his face as the pain vanished from his eyes, repalced by calm, causing her to smile as well, despite his somewhat sad tone as he spoke. "Don't be. I'm gonna make everything right with her tomorrow. One way or another, all this will end then. And then you can act like her as much as you want."

Hinata disagreed with that COMPLETELY. _'No. Naruto-kun, I can NEVER act like Sakura does, or did. I couldn't bear the thought of hurting you, like she did. Always casuing you pain like that, it would break my heart.'_ Then he gave her the peace sign, closing his eyes briefly, and giving her a wide smile as he did so. "Believe it."

She nodded, and leaned up on her toes to kiss him again, briefly moving her lips over his, enjoying the warm sensation it gave her, making her feel like she could take on the world, just so long as he loved her.

Then he took her left hand in his right, and gave her that goofy grin that she had first fallen in love with. "Now, I better get you back home, before your dad finds out that you're not there."

Hinata nodded, and proudly walked back with him, hand in hand, her head now resting on his shoulder, and she felt like nothing could bring her down now..

--

Inner Sakura wore a smile on her face as she strutted over to Dante, her feet not creating ripples in the puddles on the floor,not even as sound, as she approached the new holding cell of Dante, who was still bound by the many chains, the man shooting her a heated glare, wondering what on earth she was up to as she neared him. **"What do you want, pinkie! I'm not in the mood for you to poke fun at me again." **Then a sinister look passed over his face as he gave her a jab of his own. **"Oh that's right! You _can't _poke me. You can't even hold the hand of your precious boyfriend! "You're nothing more than an apparition, a shadow of Sakura, that causes my vessel pain on a daily basis."**

Despite the fact that this was true, and the fact that she REALLY hated it, she still smirked at him, her gaze falling on his hand, the one that once bore the powerful gauntlet, that Naruto now wore. "Heh. And you are nothing more than a voice in his head. At least he can _see _me, and I know that if he could choose over the two of us, he'd throw you out in a heartbeat."

Dante snarled and leapt forward...or rather, he tried to. Instead of rending Inner Sakura limb from limb, the chains only let him take two steps forward, and Sakura was still well out of his reach, sticking her tongue out at him now, as she had had her fun, turning around and calling over her shoulder as she watched Naruto walk Hinata to her door, and give her a soft kiss goodnight. "Besides, we already know what you were gonna tell us anways. All Naruto-kun has to do is hold onto Sakura for a certain amount of time- she snapped her fingers as she smirked at him, glad that he was chained down. "And then I can exist in the real world."

Dante smirked, and chuckled, as she watched Naruto calmly walk back home, whistiling happily now, despite the whirlpool of emotions going through him, just under the surface. And Dante knew that now was the time to begin. His tone was mocking as he revealed a shocking truth to Inner Sakura, whose face began to crumble as he spoke.

**"Go ahead and try it. That method will fade over time, and since you have already used it, you will eventually fade away, and the process speeds up each time you use it. Either you or the real Sakura will eventually vanish from overuse of it it, maybe even both of you." **Now his tone became haughty, and filled with pride, as he held his head high.** "However MY method is much more...permanent."**

Now Sakura's transparent hand passed through his face, wishing she could slap him, a miserable look on her face, disbelief in her voice as she read his emotions, searching for any hint of deception, and her green eyes misting over as she found none. "Bull! You're lying! I didn't feel anything unusual when I was with Naruto-kun! You're just screwing with us! Stop lying!" Now Dante, who had been chuckling the entire time, threw back his head in laughter. He had sown the seeds for his plan only a day ago, and already they were bearing fruit!

Now, he began to cackle, knowing that Naruto had been aware of the entire conversation, feeling the hopelessness of his vessel, and reveling in it as he pushed his vessel. **"Go ahead kit! Search my mind, see if I'm lying! See for yourself! See the truth!"**

A second later, they both heard Naruto's mental scream of rage as he found the words of Dante to be true. "_Okay you! Spill it! What will YOUR way do huh?! Will it keep Sakura-chan here with me, and keep Sakura alive?!'_

Dante spoke the truth as he slowly noddded, the demon lord actually DID know a way, but He wasn't about to reveal it, the information being his only means of freedom. **"Yes, they will both live, and this Sakura-chan of yours, the one inside you, will be able to appear in the real world, and stay inside you for as long as she wishes. And there is no sacrifice, no catch." **

Dante bared his fangs in a smirk as he saw Naruto's gaze stray down, his blue eyes looking down at the gauntlet, and his resolve wavering slightly, the demon lord careful to keep his thoughts to himself.**_"Yes. He's weakening. And once he takes it off, I will have my power back, all I need is one second to make him hesitate to put it back on, and I will be free of these accursed chains!'_**

**_--_**

As Naruto sat atop his roof, he found that he couldn't keep himself from looking at the gauntler that he wore, and he flexed the clawed fingers of it, the sharp points responding to the movement of his fingers, as he closed them into a fist, then relaxed them once more, and let them unclench, finding himself torn now, and hating every second of it. _'Its only for a second...No! What am I thinking?! I can't take it off! What if Dante tries to take over?! But..if I don't then I won't be able to hold Sakura-chan...She'll fade away..._

That thought clinched his decision. "No. I will NOT let that happen. I'll take my chances with Dante's way then. I just have to take off the gauntlet for one second...

_--_

Dante laughed triumphantly, as his vessel stood up, and leapt off the roof, making a small thud as his feet landed on the ground, and started running a second later, heading back to the forest. **"So, you've finally seen the error of your ways? Good...Now, just to porve to you that I'm not a double crosser, I will tell you all you need to know, just as soon as you get to the forest, and give me your oath that you will take the gauntlet off for a second."**

Instanstaneously, and to the horror of Inner Sakura, Naruto's voice answered him, now in the deepest portion of the woods. "_I swear on my name, as Naruto Uzumaki. Now tell me. Tell me how to save Sakura-chan, and Sakura."_

Dante nodded, his voice drowning out the protests of Inner Sakura. "**Very well. Listen closely. In order to save your precious Sakura, you must do the following. With the gauntlet still on, you must carve into your flesh, a symbol. Now its not just any Kanji. It has too be one of the strongest feelings you've ever felt. I'll give you the three, as you and I both know the what those three feelings are****."**

A second later, the symbols appeared in Naruto's head, as if they had been there all along. Love. Joy. Sadness. Naruto already knew who the three people were that had instilled these three powerful emotions in him. Sakura represented love. Hinata was sadness, as that was what she had saved him from. And the third person was-

But Dante's presence shoved that memory aside for know, and the voice of the demon echoed in his head once more, Sakura's screams of protest muffled, and barely heard as the fox spoke calmly to his vessel, making sure his potential new body wasn't fouled up by this.

**"Excellent. You have a picture of them in your mind. Now,two must be made on the underside of your wrists, and the last on your chest. Their actual size matters not. You may make them as small, or as large as you choose, it matters not. Now, begin..**

--

Kurenai's red eyes snapped open from where she was meditating, and she knew that something was wrong, as she uncrossed her legs and opened the sliding door to her home, and felt her gaze drawn to the nearby forest, which was usually full of life at night.

There was not a sound coming from within the trees. All was silent withing the wood, and she knew that this was not right. There was a...sinister presence, silencing all life, each animal and every living thing gone quiet from the terrible fear of something, an ominous event that was about to happen, and that something was coming..._fast!_

She could feel that chakra again, the same as the other day, when she had helped Naruto to subdue Dante. And if she felt it again...

Her crimson orbs narrowed as the realization hit her full force, followed by the faint sound of a yell, then again, and again, louder as unbeknown-st to her, Nartuo carved the Kanji's into his flesh..._'Naruto! He's going to take off the gauntlet! What is he thinking?! He could-_

And an instant later, she shot out of the open door, a blur of red and white, as she ran as fast as her body would allow, and then faster as she pumped chakra into her feet.

_'He could die!' Or worse, he'll be fully taken over by the Kyuubi, and I won't be able to save him from that..._

Her mind traveled back, as she remembered that day, many years ago, when she had first met Nartuo, and how surprised she was, when she found out that then short blond was actually her own age...


	9. Dante's Plan

(Flashback, Seven Years Ago. They're around nine at this time, except for Naruto and Kurenai, who are ten)

Ino, Sakura, and Hinata were in the park, playing tag with some of the other kids, with Hinata being it, when a smiling fox blond ran up to them, a silver box held under his left arm, and a black box under his left, the boy just a little shorter than Sakura. He grinned at them innocently, and the other kids backed away in disgust, all except for Hinata and Sakura, the Haruno waving to him happily as he smiled at her. "Hi Naruto! What's with the boxes?" Instead of answering her, the blond held a finger to his lips. "Sh! Its a surprise!" **(This is BEFORE Sasuke screwed things up between them. No good teme...)**then he turned to Hinata, who shyly stared back, as he asked her a question, the meek Hyuuga nervously tenting her fingers as he did so. "Hey Hinata, do you know where that girl with the red eyes is? You know, Kurenai-chan?"

Hinata shyly tented her fingers once more, as she pointed over to the academy, and Naruto thanked her as he ran off-_'Whoops! I almost forgot!'_then quickly backpedaled, remembering something, and handing her the box, a wide grin on his whiskered face as a stunned Hinata took the gift. "Oh yeah! Here you go Hinata! Happy birthday!"

The shy Hyuuga turned beet red as she opened the box, revealing a long shiny black Kunai, which glistened in the bright sunlight, her name etched into it, the handle, proving that it was hers., and Naruto had run our of material for the wrapping of the handle, so he just used one of his sleeves to finish it, making Hinata quite happy, knowing that she now had a piece of Naruto with her wherever she went, and shy held it tightly in her hand marveling at the fine craftsmanship.

To the shy girl, her crush giving her a present, AND remembering that it was her birthday, made this the best day ever, even if she was it, and having no luck catching the other kids. So she stammered out a thank you, and Naruto grinned as she went on-

"W-Were p-playing t-tag, do y-you w-want to p-play?"

Naruto's eyes lit up, and he nodded eagerly. "Cool! Can I be on your team?" Hinata shyly tented her fingers, and reminded Naruto that it was a game of tag, and that she was it. So the energetic blond did the obvious thing. He took Hinata's hand and placed it on his shoulder, a wide grin on his face as her hand touched his black t-shirt, making Hinata turn beet red at the feeling of her hand in his, his cheery voice making her face as red as a tomato. "Tag! I'm it now!"

Sakura giggled, then opened her mouth to say something, when Kurenai just happened to show up, the 9 year old clad in a pair of white shorts and a white tank top, a chunin vest worn over it. She smiled brightly at Naruto, whose cheeks turned a bright pink as he walked up to her, the box held out in front of him.

"I-I got you something for your birthday, Kurenai-chan." he said meekly, opening the silver box, he held out a beautiful, glass rose, which the awed girl stared at, and held gently in her hand as she took the gift, her red eyes running over the finely carved rose, knowing that this must have been REALLY expensive. Naruto smiled as he saw a faint pink blush on her own cheeks, as he twiddled his own thumbs nervously as he spoke. "I hope you like it. It was the best thing I could get." Kurenau nodded as she held the rose in hand, but just as she started to say thanks, Ino attempted to snatch at it away, only for Kurenai to shove her backwards with her free hand, pushing the blond away as the genjutsu user shouted at her. "Hey! What are you trying to do?! This thing breaks really easily!"

Sakura nodded and shot Ino a glare, none too happy with what her friend had tried to just do. "Ino! That wasn't very nice! Now- HEY! Stop it!" The last part came from Kurenai, as a boy with long dark hair, swatted the rose out of her hand, and threw it on the pavement, making her face twist in shock as she watched her gift shatter. As soon as the flower hit, it shattered into a million pieces, which Naruto struggled to pick up, his face broken as he watched the delicate flower shatter.

He smirked as he saw Naruto try to pick up the pieces, his pale eyes arrogantly gazing down at the upset boy. "She doesn't deserve a gift from a freak like you. Get your ugly hide out of here. Scum." Naruto mumbled something as he gathered up the pieces, ignoring how some of them cut his hands. Amused, Neji cupped his hand to one ear, mocking the distraught blond further."Hmm? You'll have to speak-

"I SAID SHUT UP!" And he whirled on the boy and, with surprising reflexes for a ten year old, spun his leg on the ground, kicking out Neji's footing, tripping the eleven year old up, and following up with a headbutt to the face, none to happy about his gift being broken.

" Oh yeah? Let see how ya like two on one ugly!" Kiba yelled, as he gave him a kick in the face, snapping his head back, then as Ino swiped at him as well now, and connecting with a solid right hook to his cheek, leaving a small bruise on his cheek as she spoke, while a now angry neji rose ot his feet, his arm receiving a small cut from one of the glass shards, drawing blood from his elbow, and angering him further as he stalked forward, his pale eyes murderous now, only for Hinata to block his path, her arms held out at either side. "Neji! Leave Kureani alone!She doesn't like you! She likes-

Neji would hear none of it, and smacked Hinata aside, knocking her to the ground and out of the way, his Byakugan eyes focused on Naruto who was now being ganged up on by Ino and Kiba, and faring none to well, until Kurenai tackled Ino to the earth, getting the evil blond girl away from Naruto, who know focused on Kiba, ducking under a swipe by his clawed hand- only to feel Neji's fist dig into his gut, knocking the wind out of him, and bringing tears of pain to his eyes.

"What a loser!" one boy called out. Sakura shrieked at the boy to shut it, and received a slap on the face from him, leaving a red hand mark, that drew tears from her emerald eyes.

"Freak!" a girl shrieked. Kurenai looked up from where hse was pinning Ino, and she swore she would never forget the way his sapphire eyes dulled over in sadness. If it weren't for the fear of getting caught, she would have GLADLY beat the crap out of those who were being so mean to him.

"Awe! The dead-last is crying!" Mocked, Ino who was still pinned as the others laughed, as Naruto took a beating from Kiba and Neji, unable to defend himslef against the two, outnumbered and outmatched here.

"What a baby!" Another added, and as Naruto cried... something happened, and Neji saw brief flash of red pass across his vision, making him ahlt his beating of Naruto. "Huh? What was that?"

Then right on cue, Naruto's lowered head snapped back up, and his eyes were red and slitted now, and his caning teeth had elongated, his whisker marks had widened, and he roared angrily at them, his voic enot his own, but Dante's. **"Oh? So I'm a freak eh?! We'll I'll show YOU little brats what this FREAK does to mean children!" **He hissed angrily as he showed them his now clawed hands, and sucking in a deep breath, let out a loud roar, slamming a clawed fist into Neji's face, and giving Kiba a nasty snap kick to the side, the sound of ribs being cracked from the demonic chakra kick. And THAT scattered the bullying children, only Sakura, Hinata and Kurenai remaining, due to his rage not being directed at them.

Naruto looked down at Neji, and raised a clawed hand over his head, as Kiba limped off, the blond ready to kill the arrogant Hyuuga, the cuts on his h ands healing before the shocked Hyuuga. **"Now you-URK!" **Dante roared in fury as he found his influence over Naruto beginning to weaken, **"NO! I was so close!" **And soon found out why, as he saw Kurenai wrap her arms around the blond, holding him firmly in a hug, bringing Naruto's personality up from under his influence, and forcing the demon lord back down, as Naruto broke free and ran off...

Later that night, when nobody else was around, Kurenai returned to the park and looked for every piece of glass. There had also been a card with the letter, obviously written by the boy. Under the glow of a near-by light, she read the letter:

_Dear Kurenai-chan,_

_I like you. You're always so sweet to everyone, and I really like how you're always coming by to talk with me, and I feel really...nice whenever you're around. I know you like flowers, so I saved up most of my money all year. I know you like roses better, but this was all I could get. I hope you have a happy birthday!_

_Your friend,  
Naruto Uzumaki_

(End Flashback)

She increased her speed, screaming through the forest now, as she sprang from branch to branch, fully aware of what she was getting herself into, and remembering that rose, the one that she had spent all night piecing back together, and even now it looked as good as new, protected in a plastic case back at her home. "Naruto, you had better not take that thing off before I get there...

--

Naruto fought back tears of pain, as he finished carving the last symbol, sadness, over his chest with the clawed hand, the Kanji's now permanent scars on his body. For a moment, he just stared at them, the Kaniji for love on his right wrist, the one for joy one his left. "Hmm. Sakura, Kurenai,and Hinata." Then he shook himself out of his reverie, and focused back on the fox. "Okay, now what?"

The fox chuckled as the Kanji's glowed, pink, red, and blue, before the symbols melted into his flesh. **"We're almost done now. As for you, all you have to do... Is find a way to make Sakura, the REAL Sakura, fall in love with you. But it must be of her own free will. You cannot force her to love you, you can only leave her chances, windows of opportunity to express herself. Then once she kisses you, or does some other major display of affection, the deterioration should stop, and they will be free of the fading. Oh, and one more thing. It has to happen by, or before midnight tomorrow, or they'll BOTH fade away forever...**

Naruto was thunderstrcuk as he placed his hand on the gauntlet, about to remove it as he promised. "You coulda told me that before!"

**"Stupid kit. YOU were the one who ignored my offer before. Now, remove the gauntlet!"**

**--**

Kurenai felt the pressure of the demonic chakra begin to increase, and ran faster, her legs screaming in pain, and being fully ignored, as she saw Naruto in the clearing, slowly pulling off the gauntlet. "NARUTO! STOP!"

--

Too late.

With a hard yank, it was pulled off, and red chakra burst into life around him.

--

Naruto winced as he counted down the one second, relaizng that this had been a mistake. He could fell Dante trying to take over, and he would lose himself soon at this rate. "I gotta put it back on, fast!"


	10. The New Gauntlet

Kurenai burst into the clearing, just as Naruto removed the gauntlet, shouting for him to stop and his red chakra blazed about him as soon as the clawed metal was removed, and she heard the laughter of Dante, dark and sinister, as he used Naruto as his voice piece. "Naruto! What are you doing?!" He visibly stiffened and looked up at her, and she gasped as she saw that his left eye was the red slitted eye of Dante. His reply was choked out, as he shakily placed the gauntlet atop his hand, his very body fighting him now. "H-Help me...

Kurenai immediately diagnosed the problem, and she didn't like it one bit. _'The Kyuubi's taking over!'_

Then she saw him struggling to put it back on, and in an instant, despite the red chakra whipping around him, leapt forward, a white and red missile as she shot through the air, her right hand open flat and blazing with her blue chakra, while her other was not, and was open as she reached for him, his red energy drawing blood on her arms and legs as she neared him, now on the ground, as he held up a hand, his red and blue eyes pleading with her, as the red claw of chakra shot out. "NO! STAY BACK! I'M NOT IN CONTROL!"

But still Kurenai advanced arms at her sides, as she angled her body to the right, a red claw of chakra whooshing past her, then to the left, up, down, each chakra blast missing her by mere centimeters as she began to speed up, leaping over, then arching her head back to avoid an under over combo of chakra, and starting to run as soon as she hit the ground, slicing an incoming claw in two, as she was less than a foot from him now. "Naruto. Its okay. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm here to help-

Now his other eye turned red, and she raised her arms in front of her to block the incoming attack, knowing full well that this was going to hurt.

And it came. In _excess_.

He raised his head back, and sucked in a deep breath expanding his lungs as he did so... and then he screamed it out, his chakra ripping forward as he shouted at her, an incredibly fast blur of energy that nearly knocked her to the ground, if she hadn't stuck herself there with her chakra. "LIIIIIAAAAAAR!"

--

Dante laughed insanely as he snapped the chains that held him fast, his old strength returning to him, as the grey chains shattered, the fragments flying through Inner Sakura, the transparent spirit unable to do anything in this situation, but charging forward anyway, a furious expression on her face, as she made seals, but he foolishly paid her no heed, beginning to rise to his feet, as he shook the remains of the chains off. **"Yes! Now I will have control over this body! I will-What is this?" **His eyes narrowed and he snarled as he felt a still very much alive chain of black chakra grab him by his waist, then another around his neck, and two more by his legs, and many more grabbing him after these, holding him fast to the ground, and preventing him from taking full control, and lessening his influence over Naruto slightly.

**_'Who could be doing this?! It isn't the kit, he's too busy trying to put the gauntlet back on, and it-_**Then he saw Inner Sakura, who was making rapid handseals, and summoning more chains to bind him down. And they were holding him fast.

And a disbelieving expression appeared on his face. **"This cannot be! You cannot harm-**He found himself muted as a chain of chakra wrapped himself over his mouth, silencing him, and he paled as Sakura finished her seals, and slapped her hand against the ground, creating a large explosion of smoke, her voice echoing from within it, as multiple chains of black chakra whipped out at him, surrounding him, and rapidly linking metal with chakra, binding him in a chakra adamantine cage.

"Ninja art: Dance of black chains!"

She laughed at his rage, then frowned as he tried to smash his way out, making the cage shake as she held her hands in the rat seal, the force of his blows nearly forcing her hands apart. "I may not be able to touch you, but my chakra sure can! Now go back under where you belong!" The chakra cage began to lower, and she smirked as it started to sink into the ground taking its captive with it.

But Dante was not going down without a fight.

He roared his defiance, as his red chakra claws slashed and tore at the bars, which began to crack now, the small crakcs spreading with every blow, forcing her to use more chakra chains to hold him., the descent of the cage stopping as she focused just on holding the enraged demon

**"NEVER! I SHALL NEVER BE BEATEN BY THE LIKES OF YOU! I WILL BE FREE!"**

--

Kurenai took one step forward, then another, as she slowly moved against the red chakra, grinding out the words, as pain flared throughout her body, the chakra leaving bruises and cuts wherever it hit. "I'm...not...lying...I could...never lie to...you...

And those words were enough to make him halt his attack. He stiffened once more, his hands digging into his head, giving an agonizing scream as he shook it back and forth, as his mind battled with Dante, unable to fight him, due to the fact that he was being prevented from entering the seal. "MAKE IT STOP! I WANT IT ALL TO STOP!" STOP IIIIIIT!"

Then Kurenai saw her opening, and took it. Shooting forward, she covered the small distance between them, and grabbed his head, her hands over the now wide whisker marks, as she yanked his gaze up, to look at her, her red eyes locking with his flickering red and blue. An tears formed in her own crimson orbs as she spoke, he was almost in exactly the same situation now as he was way back then. But this time it was so much worse. He had nearly given himself over to the darkness, just to save Sakura, without even THINKING of how Hinata would feel. He had allowed his emotions to get the better of him. And he didn't even think...

Of how SHE would feel. Even now that he had finally accpeted Hinata's love for him, he seemed to have forgotten about the consequences of his actions, and that showed in his face, the Uzumaki was now regretting having removed his gauntlet, his safeguard, and she took small comfort in the fact that he had learned his lesson, even if it was the hard way. But that didn't matter right now.

And her voice was filled with something, something that he had never heard from her when they had spoken as kids. It was filled with worry, sadness, and...love.

"Naruto! You baka! What are you thinking these days?! Do you have any IDEA of what could happen to you when you're like this?!" Now she screamed at him, as the tears fell, no longer able to be held back. "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA OF HOW MUCH YOU SCARE ME RIGHT NOW?!" He mumbled a sorry as Dante was held in check by Sakura. "I...wasn't...thinking...

"DAMN RIGHT YOU WEREN'T! BAKA! BAKA! BAKA! BAKA!" Now she rested her head against his, and her voice was strangled with emotion now, no longer screaming at him. "What's happening to you? I want the old Naruto back... The one I...

He stiffened as one eye turned red again, and with a monumental effort on his part, he somehow forced Dante back down. _'No! Not now! I have to hear this!'_

And then she shouted it at the top of her lungs, crying openly now. "I WANT THE NARUTO THAT I FELL IN LOVE WITH!"

And then she rammed her lips against his...

As she angled her body to the right, letting go of his face and pressing her chakra covered hand over the gauntlet, wincing at how hot it felt, but she got the desired result, as her own blue chakra briefly forced the red back, giving Naruto momentary control, and with her other hand, she helped the blond yank the darned thing back on, and then winced in pain as she felt the chakra whip into her arm, Dante giving her a final sendoff, before he was forced back under, as she shoved the Uzumaki down, lips still pressed against his.

And the first thing he did when he got back control was, he wrapped both arms around her...

--

Sakura was on her knees, and panting heavily as her own chakra chains faded away, just as she watched a pair of white chakra chains bind themselves into Dante's flesh. One around his chest, and two more around his wrists, EXACTLY where each Kanji was. Dante looked up, and was LIVID when he saw Kurenai slam her lips against Naruto's holding him by his blond hair, and not letting him go, and he screamed when he saw that the gauntlet was back on Naruto's right hand. **"CURSES! I WAS SO CLOSE!" **And the Demon lord roared in pain, furious that his plan had backfired in his face. **"Damn you! I WILL get out of here sooner or later!"**

Then the white chakra covered him, smothering him out as he was sealed away once more.

Sakura gave out a deep sigh as she fell bakc on her but, looking up at the scene of Naruto and Kurenai, and smiling brightly, knowing that the genjutsu master had been the one who had helped her stave off Dante's escape."Thanks. I owe ya one.

And as she smiled, her body resolidified, making her gasp in surprise. "Huh? Again? What on earth did we just do this time...

--

Naruto fell to the ground, panting in exhaustion, Kurenai falling atop him, her head now lying on his chest, neither of them really caring at the moment, due to their struggle to get the gauntlet back on, and out of breath from the kiss. Naruto berated himself as soon s he got his breath back. "What was I THINKING?! He almost got out! And I could have-WOULD have- He shuddered, as he wrapped an arm around Kurenai's waist, holding her tight again. "I could have lost it and killed you. I'm so pathetic. I didn't even THINK of what might happen to you, or what Hinata would do if I died...

Kurenai merely gave him a gentle bonk on the head, as the gauntlet brushed her wounded arm, and it surprisingly healed instantly at the touch of the clawed hand, all of her wounds miraculously healing as the torn flesh knitted itself back together. "You really needed to think more on it. Dante almost got out, and you could have been swallowed up again. But tell me this. Why did you do it?"

Speaking of the gauntlet, it now had a white mark on its red lava like shell, and Naruto raised it up to his face to get a good look at it, his other hand reaching up and experimentally pressing it...

And he closed his eyes against the bright light that emanated from it, his unclawed arm instintively wrapping around Kurenai's waist to protect her, and the genjutsu user didn't mind THAT at all, and as the light faded, it revealed the the clawed fingers of the gauntlet were now a bright white, and they seemed to have elongated slightly, and there was a Kanji for 'change' etched into the palm of the gauntlet.

That confused him, as he that had definitely not been there before, and he curiously stared at it, as it began to emanate white chakra."Eh? What the heck is THIS supposed to-

Then his hand brushed Kurenai's arm, and there was a brief flash of light...

And when Kurenai opened her eyes, she was looking...At another Kurenai. An exact copy of her, except that the one beneath her was still wearing the gauntlet. _'KAMI! What on earth just happened?!' _"Naruto-how-why-what did you DO?" The look alike shrugged her shoulders, and opened her mouth, Kurenai's own voice answering back. "I...Have no idea. But for some reason...I can hear your thoughts...

Then he/she frowned, closing her crimson eyes, and placed a hand over the kanji again, and in an instant Naruto was back, and smiling widely. "I think I know what this thing can do. Let me see if-AHA!" He smirked as he shifted again, now looking like Kakashi, and even sounding like him, as he reached up to pull the headband, revealing the Sharingan eye, and he was amazed to be able to see any potential move Kurenai could make, all clear to him now. _'This thing...What IS it..._

"I was right. This lets me-He shifted back a second later, out of breath slightly-Change my appearance, BUT its better than a transformation. When I turned into you-He know reached up to cup her face in one hand, and she instinctively nuzzled her cheek into it, smiling softly as he went on."I could read your thoughts, and I got all your memories. The same with Kakashi-sensei. And I was able to USE his Sharingan...

Kurenai gaped at this, then noticed how exhausted Naruto was. And she realized that it had indeed been a long day for the both of them. And so she placed her hands on the ground, and began to push herself up as she spoke, chastising him as if nothing had gone wrong, but he noticed the undercurrent of happiness in her tone. "That's enough out of you today Naruto. I'm taking you back to my place, before you drop dead.

Naruto opened his mouth to protest. "But Kurenai-chan- Then she silenced him with a kiss, and THIS time, he kissed her back, gently digging his fingers into her waist, as his clawed arm pulled her back down, deepening the slow and sensual moment, making Kurenai realize that there was really no hurry to get back to her home...


	11. The Surprise!

Naruto awoke the next morning, to find himself in Kurenai's bed, and the surprised Chunin did a quick glance around, before noticing the Jonin's head snuggled into his chest. "Jeez, what did we do lat night... And he looked under the red covers, sighing in relief as he saw that they were both still fully clothed. _'Phew. I'm glad I didn't take advantage of her or anything. I'd KILL myself if I did that without her consent..._And he gaped as he tried to remember what had happened last night after Kurenai kissed him for the second time, but found that the memory was fuzzy, and vague, as if his body had been on autopilot. The only thing he could really remember, was the fact that they had kissed more after that. A LOT MORE.

Then he looked at the digital clock, and yawned as he saw that it was only 5:00 A.M. WAY too early for him too be up. And so he rested his head against hers, his blond hair mingling with her black, as he carefully wrapped both arms around her waist, careful not to channel any chakra into the gauntlet, lest he should trigger another transformation. _'But still, being able to do that...Its pretty cool..._

Then he heard a familiar voice in his head, laced with excitement now. It was Inner Sakura, and she sounded as happy as a lark. _"Naruto-kun! Guess what?! I'm solid again! I tired coming out earlier, but when I came out, I wasn't solid, but when I came back here...I can touch! I can feel! This rocks!" _Then her voice turned suggestive, and he could feel the pent up desire in it. The desire to be with him again. _'Can we spend some time together? I mean its still early in the-_

A wide smile broke out on her face as she felt him enter the seal, after whispering to Kurenai where he would be going, the Jonin nodding in response, his words waking her enough for her to understand what he said. "Go ahead. I'm too tired from last night. Have your fun." He smiled as he gave her a tender kiss on the lips, his words making her body shiver with joy as he spoke into her ear. "I love you. And I'll see you in an hour or two."

--

Sakura slowly turned around as she felt Naruto's chakra signature flare into life behind her, smile on her face as he slowly walked toward her, taking in the new surroudings, which were not as dark and dank now, but somewhat brighter, due to Dante being defeated for the second time. He nervously reached out a hand for her own, and he pracitcally leapt up with joy as he felt her fingers intertwine themselves in his own, and he let out a loud laugh as he grabbed her by the waist and twirled her around, the Haruno laughing just as hard as he was, both of them laughing until they cried, as Naruto's spin slowed, the eventually halted, as he placed Sakura back on the ground, hands still gently holding her by the waist.

He laughed softly as a tear leaked down his face, only for it to be covered by Sakura's hands, as she cupped his whiskered cheeks in her palms, her voice soft and sweet, and he loved hearin every word she said. "Why are you crying?"

"Because I'm happy. Everything is FINALLY starting to go right for me, and I can hardly believe it." Sakura felt a tear of her own fall from her face and she made no effort to hide it, and instead usded her hands to pull him forward, whispering in his ear now. "And all that's left is the real Sakura." Naruto nodded shivering as her lips brushed his ear, followed by a playful nibble. "And I'll deal with that today. But for now-

He smirked as he gazed down at her, feeling like he was on cloud nine, his gauntlet glowing brightly for some reason as he spoke, but the two of them ignored it. "I just wanna be with you-

Then the gauntlet's light became blinding, and forced the two of them to pull their faces back, and shut their eyes...

And Sakura gaped at the sight before her, looking at a copy of herself, before bursting out into laughter as she saw the light fade from the gauntlet on the look alikes arm, revealing that it was OBVIOUSLY Naruto. "EH?! What the heck happened there?!"

Naruto frowned as he looked down at himself, ignoring the slight nosebleed he got from looking at his new body, then his face turned beet red as he angrily placed his hand against the kanji in his palm, cursing under his/her breath as Inner Sakura shook with laughter, laughing at the now girl Naruto. "AH! I still can't control this thing-

Then the light lit up again, and they closed their eyes, and he frowned as he looked down at himself, none to happy as he spoke with Sakura's voice. "WHAT?! I'm still the same?! What is going on here?!"

He still looked like Sakura, but he could tell that his real body was still the same back at Kurenai's place. But Sakura was done laughing at him now, and merely smiled at her copy, as she was still holding onto him."Meh. I guess its just a side effect. You're probably stuck like this whenever you go into the seal, as a result from all that crazy chakra mixing, yours, mine, Dante's, Kurenai's, Hinata's, that would DEFINITELY mess up the seal.." Now she assumed a pouty face making**(When he's in the seal, I'll call him/her Sana)**

Sana close her green eyes against it, but was forced to open them a second later as Sakura spoke, playfully biting one of her fingers now, her voice teasing as she brushed her nose against the look alike. "Do I really look that bad? Is it really that bad to look like little ol' me?"

Sana frowned at this, her green eyes sparking defiantly. "No! Its just that-well I'm a guy! I'm not really used to being in a girl's body!" Now SHE blushed as she looked down at her feet, voice muffled. "But I'm glad that it's your body. I'd definitely choose it if I had a choice."

Sakura smiled as she ran a hand up Sana's back amused at how easily Naruto could be embarrased, now that he was a girl, even though it was just for when he was in the seal. "You're so sweet. Now can we stop talking? We have a lot of CATCHING up to do."

Sana's head snapped up at this, her green eyes sparking with desire, her voice, SAKURA'S voice filled with barely restrained desire. "You have a point. And whether I'm stuck like this while I'm here or not, I still love you."

Sakura smiled as she grabbed Sana by her pink hair, and pressed her against the wall of the corridor, pressing her voluptuous body against Sana's who despite her new body, kissed just like Naruto did, maybe even a little better, as their breasts pressed against one anothers, while the two Sakura's one Naruto, and one Sakura's actual feelings, passionatley kissed, making up for lost time, and not minding it one little bit as they each gave off a whimper of pleasure from the sensation of each others tongue in their mouths...

--

Kurenai quirked an eyebrow as Naruto opened his blue eyes with a gasp, and he was sweating anf breathing heavily to boot. "What happened to you?" Naruto smiled strangely as he held up his gauntlet, flexing the claws slowly, as he spoke. "I figured out how this thing works.

--

Inner Sakura sighed as she placed her now solid hand against the wall. "Wow. That really was something else. Being solid ROCKS...

(Hours later)

Sakura calmly walked through the busy streets of the leaf village, avoiding incoming carts and passerby, as she looked for Naruto , who seemed to be avoiding her. "Where could he be?" Then an idea hit her, and she took of for the training grounds...

--

Naruto sighed as he sensed Sakura's chakra signature growing stronger, and nodded to Hinata, who he had just been kissing, and the two turned to face Sakura, both of them arm in arm, to see her, was standing behind them calmly, having known about Naruto's situation with her for at least a few hours.

But as soon as his blue eyes locked with her green, they froze over, the ocean blue going ice cold as he spoke, tone cold as his eyes, his posture going from relaxed to stiff, as Kurenai dropped out of the tree, to land at Naruto's left as he spoke. "What is it Sakura? You had better not be here to hit me again."

Sakura rapidly shook her head, as she waved her hands in front of her. "No. I shouldn't have done that. I'm here to...


	12. Trial by Deceit

Naruto's now cold blue gaze fixated itself on Sakura now, and the icy orbs bored into her green emerald eyes as she spoke, now slightly shaken by his penetrating stare, which visibly made her stiffen, at the lack of warmth in them.(cue dramatic music!). "Um...I came here to ask you-

Again Naruto interrupted her, as he removed his arms from Hinata, who gave his clawed hand a parting squeeze, as their fingers parted, whilst he looked to Kurenai who nodded as he turned his gaze away from her, beginning to buildup chakra for their little plan. _'Here we go. The moment of truth..._

And boy, did he sound MAD, as he approached Sakura, who was now rooted in place by several tree roots, courtesy of Kurenai. She wasn't going anywhere."To what? To BEG me to retrieve Sasuke for you?! Because you can't do it alone?! Is THAT all I am to you?! A STUPID LAP DOG?!" Sakura winced at the accusation in his tone, but she still pressed on, voice wavering slightly as she tented her fingers, afraid to look him in the eye, whilst Naruto pressed a hand against the palm of his gauntlet-

"Naruto I-

Yet AGAIN she was interrupted, as a hand reached down and yanked her head up to stare straight into his eyes, the motioning jarring her head and vision, as her eyes refocused... and saw Sasuke's Sharingan eyes. _'W-wha?! What's Sasuke doing here?!'_And the disguised Naruto smirked down at her stunned expression, speaking with Sasuke's voice now, as Hinata came up beside him, her pale eyes activating her Byakugan, the pale orbs filled with anger as they glared at Sakura, while Kurenai now wrapped the roots about Sakura's legs as 'Sasuke' spoke. "Its been awhile Sakura. Are you STILL a useless deadweight? Have you STILL been treating the dobe like crap?" Now he closed his eyes briefly as he shrugged his tan shoulders (He's wearing his Shipuuden outfit) Opening them a moment later as he spoke. "But I'm surprised that he held out this long. Too bad you never gave him a chance."

Then another voice chimed in for her, this one Kakashi, as he walked out of the nearby woods, appearing in the fading light as the dark clouds began to roll in out of nowhere, darkening the entire filed from South to North, as the light was extinguished. "Sakura, I have to say, I'm quite disappointed in you. I really expected better of Tsuande's apprentice, and three years of maturity REALLY should have changed your outlook no things. Naruto wanted me to come here to celebrate Sasuke's return, and THIS is what I see? Pitiful." In reality, it was not the REAL Kakashi, bu a clone that Naruto had changed to look like Copycat Ninja. And thanks to Kurenai's genjutsu, the gauntlets on their arms weren't even visible.

Sakura was SO confused. "Sensei! I can explain, just give me a second!" 'Kakashi' shrugged as he pulled out his favorite Make-out paradise book, sounding as carefree as ever. "Go ahead. I'm all ears. Let see you talk your way out of this."

And Sakura opened her mouth to speak, shooting Sasuke a pleading look as she explained the events that had taken place, but she faltered as she got to the part where she hit Naruto, knowing full well that she should NOT have done that to him, and that it had been on reflex. "And I-

Now Kakashi revealed his own Sharingan, as he lifted up his headband with his free hand, both eyes now focused firmly on Sakura, the crimson eye staring into the very depths of her soul as he spoke for her. "You were just SO used to hitting him that you just couldn't help yourself, you rotten scum."

She rapidly shook her head as the vines entrapped her waist now. "Uh-uh! That wasn't why I hit him! I just wasn't thinking, and he was just so- AND HOW ARE YOU TWO HERE?!"

It was a perfect illusion. And Sakura didn't suspect a a thing.

And they weren't done yet.

'Sasuke' merely chuckled as he watched the third clone, this one a normal Naruto walk up behind him, and wrap an arm around Hinata, giving Sakura a bale fire glare as he pointed a clawed hand at her, his voice filled with ice. "Go ahead, Sakura. Try and dispel it. See if the 'loser' is playing a trick on you." Sakura immediately attempted to do so, clapping her hands into the 'release' seal, but nothing happened, and her eyes widened with the shock as Kakashi and Sasuke stared down at her, the vines roots now grabbing her amrs and pinning them at her sides, as her mind processed what had just happened. _'They're real... Naruto DID bring back Sasuke...And he hasn't changed a bit...He still thinks I'm annoying..._

The Naruto clone sighed in annoyance as she attempted to stammer out a response, while Hinata tugged on his arm, getting his attention. "Yes Hina-hime What is it?" The Hyuuga heiress shot Sakura a MURDEROUS glare before she answered him, leaning up to bring her face close to his as she spoke, her tone velvety soft, and filled with passion for him. "Naruto-kun, who do you love more? Me and Kurenai-sensei, or that whore Sakura?" _'THIS'LL teach her.'_

Naruto looked at Sakura now, while the real one, the Naruto disguised as Sasuke spat at the ground in front of Sakura, as her face broke. "Jeez, I guess I was wrong. You ARE still dead-weight." And 'Naruto' spoke the words slowly and deliberately, knowing that this would either make or break the situation here. "Well, I DID have a crush on Sakura, but after she hit me like that-Now his face fell, and a tear leaked out of his left eye as he went on. "Now, I wish I had NEVER wasted my time on her, when what I really wanted was right in front of me."

And with that, he turned his back to Sakura, and wrapped his arms around Hinata, who gave off a slight shudder as his fingers dug into her waist. "As for your answert, Hina-hime, I love you and Kurenai far more than I ever DID love Sakura. Now lets get out of here, before she tries to make me change my mind." 'Kakashi' nodded as he watched Naruto lean in to kiss Hinata, who was more than happy to respond to his affection, even if this was all just a ruse.

It WAS quite a genjutsu.

"Now do you see Sakura? If you push anyone or anything far enough, it/they will eventually break." Tears began to drip from her emerald eyes as Kurenai crossed the distance between her and Naruto, to wrap her arms around him, causing him to break his sensula kiss from Hinata and turn to give her a fierce kiss of his own, as the two closed their eyes slowly, tuning out Sakura completely. _'No...This can't be happening..._

"You HAD your chance with Naruto. He gave you PLENTY of chances, but every time, you stomped on his heart, beat him, called him names and other such attrocities. Now he won't even LOOK at you, let alone speak to you anymore. You aren't even fit to be on the same team as him. In fact- Now he put his book away, as he put his hand to his forehead, sounding dead serious now, while 'Sasuke' merely stared down at her, red eyes blazing at her. "You don't even deserve to be a ninja."

THEN the worst thing ever happened.

With a slight rustle of leaves, a FOURTH clone appeared, this one disguised as Tsunade, and looking none to happy with her apprentice as she crossed the clearing to face her student, nodding her head as she spoke, her hazel eyes filled with disdain as she glanced at Sakura, before turning her gaze back to Kakashi, hands on her hips now as she echoed the fake's train of thought, the plan now moving to the second stage. "I was just thinking that myself. Sakura HAS been shirking her duties as a ninja of late. Which means-

With a hard yank, she reached down, and grabbed the headband on Sakura's head, tearing it off, and breaking the red strap of it off easily tearing it apart, as her teary eyed apprentice looked up at her, not believing what was happening, nor what she was hearing. "Sakura Haruno-

"No...

"You are hereby-

"No...Please...

Now the fake Tsunade sucked in a deep breath before she shouted right into Sakura's face, her tone harsh, her eyes cold and unfeeling for the now weeping Haruno." YOU ARE HEREBY BANISHED FROM THIS VILLAGE, AND STRIPPED OF YOUR CHUNIN RANK FOR ALL ETERNITY!"

Now Sasuke turned to Kakashi, as the roots continued their climb, now around Sakura's neck, and constricting her airway, as it went up. "So sensei, how about we go get some ramen to celebrate? For old times sake?" Kakashi, nodded his head and smiled behind his mask as he called out to Naruto and his two girlfriends, drawing their attention away from each other as he spoke cheerfully, waving to them as he did so. "Hey! Lets go get some ramen! And I'm buying for all of you!"

'Sasuke' nodded as he held a hand in front of Sakura's face, the vine-like roots now covering her mouth, muffling her cries of protest. "Later loser...

Then the vines cut him off from view as they all turned and followed Kakashi out of the training fields.

And Sakura couldn't breathe, as the vines fully covered her...

_'I can't breathe! I'm...suffocating..._

--

Sakura's emerald eyes snapped open, ans she sucked in a deep breath, her body shaking terribly as Kurenai released the genjutsu, before leaping back up into the tree to hide herself, whilst the clones poofed out of existence. But Sakura was so visibly shaken by the illusion, that she didn't even notice, and she was now hyperventilating as she hugged her arms to herself fearfully, tears misting over in her emerald eyes.

Naruto sighed as he scratched the back of his head, Hinata now standing by his side, her left hand clutched gently in his right, as she gave it an encouragin squeeze. Naruto nodded at this, and still hand in hand with Hinata, knelt down next to Sakura, and gently nudged her in the side with a foot, _slightly_worried that they had overdone it. But he HAD to admit, it gelt pretty darn good to get payback...

"Hey Sakura. Snap out of it. It was just a-

He frowned and released Hinata's hand, leaning his boyd back in the process, to narrowly avoid a rapid uppercut from Sakura, who was now glaring at him with tear filled eyes, her voice broken as his briefly angry expression melted into a serious one, realizing that she was not intending to hit him, but merely reacting out of fright and fear from the genjutsu.

"Why did you do that to me Naruto?!" Instead, she got what she LEAST expected.

A hard slap to the face with his clawed hand, leaving a clawed imprint on her face, yet not drawing blood as he glared back down at her, eyes red now, but still in control as he hissed out at her. " To teach you a lessone. How did that feel?"

Sakura slowly put her hand to her face now, as Naruto and Hinata rose up, the Haruno following suit a moment later, sounding surprised, STUNNED that Naruto had actually retaliated so violently. "That hurt! It really hurt!" Now he snarled at her as he showed her his gauntlet, morphing into Sasuke again, and pumping his clawed hand at a nearby boulder, which burst into pieces from the shock wave of the hit, startling her as he spoke to her.

"THAT is what you did to my heart, and it felt worse than that slap, all on a regular basis. And all because of this-

He know pointed to himself, and his black eyes narrowed as his arm shook slightly, forcing him to go back to his normal form, his blue eyes still narrowed as she stared at him. "Because of this freakin teme! Now you want to run to me, and its all because you know that Sasuke will NEVER love you!"

She hung her head at this, but he roared at her, his venemous tone jerking her head up from fear, as she heard Dante's voice overlapping Naruto's bellying his already demonic appearance. "LOOK AT ME WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU! I AM SO TIRED OF-

He panted heavily now, and was about to go on, but Hinata wrapped her arms about him, calming him drastically as he felt her hands on his chest, causing him to break off his angry tirade, as he turned to rest his head against hers, letting out a deep sigh as he did so. "Sorry about that Hina-hime. I hope I didn't scare you."

The Hyuuga shook her head as she cupped his whiskered face in her hands, whilst glaring smugly at Sakura. "You could never scare me Naruto-kun. But I'm glad you scared her. She needs to be taught a lesson anyway. Just THINKING about how mean she was to you-

She shuddered at the thought, visibly restraining herself from beating the crap out of the Haruno, knowing that Naruto wouldn't like that. So instead she vented her emotions, by pressing her lips against his, moving her mouth over his in a soft, slow, and sensual kiss, which he responded to in the same fashion, forgetting all about Sakura for a bit as Hinata brought her arms around behind his back, slowly closing her pale eyes, whilst she gently pressed herself against him, giving off a soft whimper as she slid her tonue into his mouth.

And when she broke the kiss several minutes later, he opened his eyes, his appearance normal again, his eyes that brilliant ocean blue once more as he gazed into her pale orbs, panting slightly from their make-out session, while Hinata smiled up cheerfully at him as she chirped out a question. "Feeling better now Naruto-kun?"

He nodded slowly as he nuzzled his nose against hers, STILL ignoring Sakura, who didn't make a move, for fear of provoking his now explosive wrath. "Thanks Hina-hime." Her cheeks turned a pale pink at the affectionate nickname, which he used for her, and ONLY her. It was like he was giving her special treatment. "I feel MUCH better now, now that you've cleared my head."

She reached for his hand, smiling as his fingers found hers first, and intertwined with them, her smooth hand fitting perfectly in his own, as he turned his gaze from her to Sakura, who noticed that there was just a touch of warmth in his eyes as he spoke. "Anyways, here's the short version. I'm gonna cut right to the chase, and get this darn thing out in the open. Sakura, although I DID fall for you first-Now the eyes iced over again, and she gulped nervously as he smiled warmly at Hinata, before his eyes froze over again upon looking at her.

"Give me THREE good reasons why I should accept your 'feelings' for me, if they're even real feelings at all. And remember this. I don't NEED your love. I have Hina-hime, and Kurenai-chan, who I love with all my heart and soul, as they BOTH have pulled me out of the darkness time and time again, while you just seem to drive me back into it. So spill it. Three reasons for me to give you a chance. Right here. Right now. I'm giving you one minute."

--

Sakura froze with fear as soon as he finished, FINALLY realizing that he was seriously losing his patience with her, and that if she didn't act now, she was going to lose him forever. _'And I don't want to lose him. Not when I've come so farm and after its taken SO long..._

So she spoke, and Naruto quirked a blond eyebrow as her tone firmed her eyes resolute as she held up one finger. "I've finally realized that what I really wanted, what I really NEEDED, was right in front of me the whole time. I just didn't give him a chance." She held her breath, PRAYING that was a good reason for him, because she REALLY meant it. _'Please let him beleive me..._

And he must have realized that, as he held up two fingers, some more warmth in his eyes now, but his tone was only fractionally warmer. "Good. One down. Lets see if you can give two more. Hurry up now, times a wasting Sakura."

The worried Haruno racked her brain, wrining her hands through her pink hair as she searched her mind.  
"Aha! Reason number two." Now her tone became sad as she hung her head and admitted her greatest flaw. " Look...I'm really dense sometimes, and I was too prideful to admit, that I was kinda, sorta starting to like you back then. But then, I- I just wasn't ready for you to be so different when you came back! I was just getting used to the old you, and then WHAM! I get a brand new, suave man in place of the jokster I used to know!"

Now her heart fluttered a bit as he held up one finger, a small smile on his face now, his tone a good deal warmer, but still serious. "Good. Maybe there's hope for you yet. BUT! I want the next answer to really mean something to me. You have thirty seconds."

And NOW, he got an almost instantaneous answer, as a blushing Sakura raised her head to look him, green emeralds locking with blue saphires. "From my heart? Okay then. Listen really good then Naruto." Now she placed both hands over her ample chest, and her blush grew somewhat as she spoke, her heart beating faster with every word, every second. "It took me WAY too long to realize this, and I know that you might not believe me, but I say this, and I MEAN THIS, with my very heart and soul. I.Love.You. And I _swear, I promise, _that I will do everything I can to make up for all-

Now tears fell from her face as she watched his smile grow a bit, as he still held up one finger. "For all(sob) the hurt I caused you, (sob) for all the pain you shouldered(sob) because of(sniff) me! I'm so sorry Naruto! I'm really truly sorry! Please give me another chance, and I SWEAR you won't regret it!"

Now her last word was a whisper on the winds. "Please?"

And his grin grew substantially as he lowerd his hand, clenching it into a loose fist before Hinata released his hands which he spread open in a wide all ecompassing gesture, his tone warm and caring as he sparked, making her heart nearly stop at his warm words. "Bingo. That's three PERFECT reasons. Welcome back Sakura-chan."

Warm tears poured from her eyes as he walked towards her, arms still wide open, and an instant later, she ran right into them, openly crying into his chest, her tears soaking his shirt as Kurenai popped out of the trees, and gave Hinata a hi-five, Hinata's face glum as she returned the slap. "Stage three. Success."

But Hinata sighed as she watched Naruto stroke his hands through Sakura's pink hair, whispering warm words to her, which she nodded rapidly to, her head still burried in his chest, her arms now wrapped around his neck, as something he said made her look up then slowly press her lips against his, in her first EVER kiss, which he calmly drank in, savoring the moment briefly, before he pulled away and rose to his feet, taking Sakura's hand and bringing her up with him. "I know, but I still don't like her. Not after all she did to him. It makes me SO mad."

Kurenai sighed as she nodded her head in agreement, waving as the two neared them. "I know. But if she breaks his heart again, she's toast."

Hinata nodded her head in agreement, while turning to see an Anbu approaching their location, carrying some kind of letter. "Amen to that."


	13. A Lover's Resolution!

**(Background music: Here in your arms)**

Kurenai raised an eyebrow as the Anbu handed her a letter, then vanished in a poof of smoke, not pausing to give them any further instructions, as the letter would expalin it all. Her red eyes filled with confusion as she read it, then glanced at Naruto who had just walked up beside her, Sakura right behind him, but Hinata arched a dark blue eyebrow, as she saw that he was NOT holding the hand of the Haruno. _'Good. I don't want him spendig much time with that skank.._

It would appear that he was still a little sore with Sakura over what she ha dput him through, paying the Haruno no attention as he rested his head in the crook of Kurenai's neck, making the jonin shudder slightly at the warm touch, before she nuzzled her cheek against his, returning the affectionate gestrue. "Mmm. That feels nice."

Naruto smiled at this, the reached around with his arms to encircle her waist, drawing a shiver from the Jonin at his warm touch. Then he noticed the letter she had in her hand, and he was drawn to it, as the angle he was resting his head at, was preventing him from reading it. "Hmm? Who is that for?" Kurenai smiled warmly as she held it up the letter so he could read it. "Its for you. Go ahead and read it." He did so, peering closely at the lettering, his eyes starting to go wide as he read it. "No freaking way...

Kurenai nodded as twisted her head to give him a gentle kiss on the lips. "Way. Look's like I have some Jonin competition now."

Naruto merely nodded for a moment, then Kurenai mentally counted down in her mind, to the moment when he would jump for joy.

5...

4...

3...

2...

1...

0.

"I'M A JONIN! WAHOOOOOO!"

--

Hinata laughed as Naruto came back down to earth, skipping over to him and giving him a big hug as soon as he turned to face her, filled with joy and happiness that was quite contagious for her. "Naruto-kun! I'm so proud of-WHOA!" He then surprised her, by sweeping her off her feet and giving her a big hug as soon as he did so landed, the two of them laughing like idiots as he swung her round and round, for a minute or two, before the two now very dizzy ninja collapsed atop each other, dizzy from the long spin.

Hinata's head was spinning like crazy as she fell atop of Naruto, and the whole earth seemed to be swaying back and forth as she placed both palms on the ground in an attempt to steady herself, giggling as she swayed back and forth, still dizzy from so much spinning. "Oh...So dizzy...

Naruto laughed once more, before he finally caught his breath and reached up to place a hand on her soft face. "I can't believe it! Hinata I'm a Jonin now! This is so cooool!" In response, she leaned down to nuzzle her nose against his own, smiling warmly down at her now Jonin boyfriend. "You earned it Naruto-kun. If anyone desereved a Jonin rank in this village, it would certainly be you."

The next instant, her lips were firmly pressed against his own as his affectionate Hyuuga girlfriend allowed him to kiss her, returning his passion a moment later as she entangled her fingers in his blond locks. Kurenai smiled warmly down at the two, knowing full well that out of the three of them, Hinata would do ANYTHING for Naruto, even going so far as to risk her life for him. However, with Sakura, let's just say that Kure-chan had quite a few_ reservations_ when it came to the Haruno.

Then Naruto leapt up from the ground, still swaying slightly as he did so, the dizziness having not yet fully run its course. "Hey! Lets go get some ramen to-

Then he shook his head. "Nah. Lets go out somewhere nice! This is a really special occasion!"

Once he said THAT a wide smile lie Hinata's face, followed by a warm grin from Kurenai, who took Naruto's arm in her own as she crossed over to him, NOT pullin him away from Hinata, but simply talking to him. "Special? Such as dressing up formally for a big occasion?"

The new Jonin nodded. "You bet! I thought you'd like that." Kurenai certainly did, as she made quite clear by giving him a chaste kiss on the lips. But her quick glance to Sakura made the unspoke question quite clear to Naruto. "What are we going to do about her?"

Naruto gave Kurenai a knowing look, then walked over to Sakura, and startled the Haruno by sweeping her off her feet, and picking her up bridal style, winking at the Jonin before smiling down at Sakura's starteld expression. "Whats' wrong? Did I scare you?"

Hesitantly she nodded, a light pink blush on her face, as she was still not used to this seemingly MUCH more agressive Naruto. "Y-yes. You sorta did Naruto." He smirked down at her blush, then abruplty swung her around yet again, and she now landed on the ground again, surprised at the sudeden motion. "Come on then. I want to show you something."

Before he did anything else, he turned to Hinata and Kurenai, giving each of them a nice, slow sensual kiss before he did anything else. "I'll see you two in an half hour. Ja ne!"

Kurena smiled as he took off, followed by Sakura a moment later, hot on his heels. "Hmm. It looks like he's keeping her on a short leash." Hinata nodded, glad that her sensei had spoke for her. "Hai. And I'm glad he's treating her like that. She deserves a little shake up. Spoiled little brat that she is...

This caused Kurenai to arch a black eyebrow in mock amusement and surprise. "You aren't going to be getting along with her very well are you?" Hinata angrily stamped her foot now, and rapidly shook her head as the two vanished from view. "Never. After what she did to him, Sakura's lucky I haven't killed her yet."

"Temper, temper, Hinata. If you kill her...

This was followed by a tearful sniffle from her student. "I don't want him to get hurt Kurenai-sensei. I don't want her to hurt him all over again. She doesn't know what she does to him soemtimes." Her sensei nodded, understanding full well as she place a an arm around Hinata and gave her a big hug. "Its okay. We'll BOTH make sure she doesn't screw with his heart.

"Hai."


	14. The Deception and the Sucess!

**The results are in. After a landslide win, the real Sakura is going to go bye bye! MUHAHAHAHA!**

Sakura blinked as she saw where Naruto had taken her, having been blindfolded along the way. They had arrived at the Hokage Stone Faces, and she had no idea why they were here. And the confusion was evident on her face, and in her voice. "Naruto? Why did you bring me here?"

But he did not answer, as he turned his back to her, and moved to stand on the head of the third Hokage, gesturing all around him, sounding suddenly far less cheery than he had a moment ago. "Sakura. What do you see here?"

That confused her, and moving to stand behind him, she peered around his left, and looked down. "I see the village."

The scene was a peaceful one.

The sun was high in the sky, and the sound of the bustling village were heard bellow. But that perfect little picture was darkened by Naruto, who had his back to her, now clad in a different outfit, which I neglected to mention earlier. He now wore a long flowing black cape, with red at the ends of it, and it resembled the outfit of Dante somewhat. And his cold blue eyes were gazing off into the distance, as if he was seeing something she was not.

In response, he raised his hand, the red blindfold held loosely in his clawed digits. Then he released the cloth, letting it be blown away on the wind, to fall down towards the leaf village as it was carried away by the breeze, signifying something, but what it was, she knew not. His words were that of cold steel as he spoke. "As do I." She shivered at that.

That gesture...It gave her an ominous feeling.

And that bad feeling in the pit of her stomach was steadily getting worse as she watched storm clouds begin to appear in the sky out of nowhere, rapidly blocking out the blue sky, and soon covering the sun, and darkening all of the village, which did not seem to notice it, as they went about their lives, unconcerned, as if nothing was happening.

For they did not see it.

And Naruto's next words confused her further, as a cold breeze blew through them, making her hug her arms to herself and shiver. "But you aren't looking beneath what you see Sakura. Look again. All around you. Do you not remember what happened here, all those years ago? Those words you said to me?"

Still not getting it, she reached for his hand, but it was slapped away, by...

Her own?

**(Cue Orochimaru's theme music)**

Sakura gasped as Inner Sakura now stood between her and Naruto, and her true self did NOT look to happy with the her real self. "Hands of slut. You're not going to touch him EVER again." Horribly confused now, she looked to the blond, who, eyes filled with pain and anger, glared back at her. "Why did you-

Inner Sakura placed both hands on her hips, and Sakura frowned as her inner half spoke down to her. "Why did we bring you here? Simple. Payback time. You stupid Sasuke whore." Then she jerked her thumb over her shoulder, and instinctively Sakura turned to look-

She now turned to look behind her, and she gasped at what she saw, as she now saw someone, a ghost like apparition of a little boy, leaning over the railing, and bawling his eyes out, wiping at his plentiful tears with his battered and scratched fists.

His words were broken and sad. "Why...Its not fair...

Instinctively, she ran to him, motherly instincts kicking in as she tried to hug the unknown little boy-

And walked right through him, as if he wasn't even there.

He didn't even notice her.

Instead, he turned round, and Sakura looked on in shock as another apparition, this one a younger version of herself, at 7 years old, appeared before him. "Wait. If that's me, than that must be- Her emerald eyes widened again as she finally noticed the unruly blond hair of the little boy. "Naruto...

She KNEW what was going to happen.

After all, this had already happened.

The younger version of her spoke, and she glanced to young Naruto, whose face seemed to shatter at her words. "Naruto, I'm sorry, but I like Sasuke now, Not you. And my mom says we can't be friends anymore. Okay?" In response the boy shook his head and started to bawl into his hands as he leaned over the railing. "Why?! We're (sob) best (sniff) friends!" Then, not even TRYING to comfort him, and not listening to him the girl spun on one heel, turned, and walked away, vanishing from sight a second later, as he called out after her sounding grief stricken at the loss of his then, best friend.

"Sakura-chan!"

--

Inner Sakura smacked her across the face as she turned around, having snuck up behind her as she watched the scene. "You little whore. You wrecked his heart that day, and _I know _you never gave it a second thought!" Sakura staggered back up from her feet as the apparition of Naruto faded away, still sobbing as he faded from view, until the sounds of his sobs were gone as well.

She held her hand to her cheek, a sorrowed look on her face for a moment, then replaced by an angry one as she swung at her inner self-

And her hand passed right through, as did she, the force of her attack causing her to stumble forward, and into Naruto's arms. Surprised, she looked up at Naruto, who was glaring down at her now, hissing venomously at her as he spoke. "Did you really think I forgave you? After all that pain?"

"B-But you let me kiss-

Now he snorted, a dry laugh escaping his lips, as he spun Sakura forward, holding her by her shoulders, as Inner Sakura stalked forward, an evil smile on her face as she removed her gloves, revealing the flawless tan skin of her fingers. And Naruto's voice still hissed in her ear, full of malice now as Inner Sakura closed in. "I just needed you to kiss me, and so I put together that little ruse. The Genjtutsu, the little test, all to get that one kiss."

Inner Sakura was now standing directly in front of the real Sakura, and she calmly crossed her arms over her ample chest, as Naruto finished explaining to the bewildered real Haruno. "I needed you to kiss me, so that SHE the _true _Sakura-chan, the one that did NOT spurn my feelings, could exist in this world."

Now Sakura piped up, not liking where this was going. "So, why a-are you doing-WHAT are you doing?! I told you I was sorry!"

Naruto nodded sagely at that, then his eyes flashed red, as his teeth grew out, making him sound more feral, as well as look it, whilst the clouds parted, to reveal a blood red moon, the light shining down on the three of them, enveloping them in the red glow. "That you did. BUT whoever said that I forgave you. I had my claws crossed after all."

Inner Sakura now uncrossed her arms, and placed her hands on Sakura's shoulders, causing her former host to shiver at her cold touch. "But you see, there's one _tiny _littleproblem now. We can't have two Sakura's existing in this world. There can only be one of us, and the either has to...

She briefly let go of Sakura's shoulders to shrug her own, before grabbing Sakura again, her nails digging into the bare skin of Sakura's shoulders as she spoke with false cheeriness. "Well, you get the point."

Sakura's emerald eyes filled with tears now, as she realized what she had made Naruto.

She had made him into a monster. She had brought out the darkness in him, and she hadn't even noticed it until now

Seconds later, she hissed in pain, as his fangs pierced her neck, in a vampiric fashion. But unlike vampires, his fangs were not hollow, and as soon as his teeth pierced her flesh, he pulled them back out, licking her blood off his canine teeth as the crimson liquid began to leak out of Sakura's neck. "You just earned a one way ticket to oblivion Sakura. And its all your fault."

Then he nodded to Inner Sakura, who smiled warmly at him, as she brought her face close to Sakura's, whispering the last words the Haruno would ever hear in this lifetime. "Bye bye dead weight."

Then she slammed her lisp against Sakura's and the Haruno barely even felt it, before she blinked, and saw that SHE was now staring at Inner Sakura and Naruto, except the other Haruno was now being held...

Exactly the way she had been held jus a second ago. And was it just her, or did everything seem...bigger?

Startled, she looked down at herself, and the Haruno shrieked aloud as she saw that she had now been regressed to at least thirteen years old, her clothes fitting her fine, but she had last any and all traces of her womanly body, and looked exactly as she had when Sasuke had left the village.

"What the heck did you do?!

Naruto didn't answer her, as a portal opened beneath her, but Inner Sakura did as a dark vortex opened beneath the now regressed Haruno. "You're being sent back in time three years ago. You'll have no memories of this, and as a result, you won't be able to screw with the time line. Later dead weight."

Sakura had no more time for words, as she promptly fell into it, the portal sealing behind her instantaneously, as the red moon faded, and the dark clouds left the sky, returning it to its usual brigh blue, as Naruto released the...

Genjtutsu. None of what had just happened was real, except for the whole swap between Sakura and Inner Sakura. That had been the purpose of the genjtutsu, to distract the real Haruno from suspecting anything. And it had worked like a charm.

And what a genjutsu it was, taken directly from the mind of Dante himself, who was proving to be a vast library of information, in return for the Naruto preventing Inner Sakura from now pounding the crap out of his Demon backside, which she was more than capable of now that she had a new body, AND the fact that she could still enter Naruto's mind, AND the seal, at any given time, as she chose.

--

Naruto fell to one knee, panting heavily from the use of such a genjutsu. "Holy...That took a lot outta me. But it was worth it...

Sakura had now been replaced by Inner Sakura, who had now taken up residence in her former body. She flexed her fingers experimentally, and smiled as she heard the thoughts of Actual Sakura, who had now relaized that she had been caught in a genjutsu, and was now nothing more than a voice in the head of Inner Sakura. "Heh. How's it feel slut?"

She ignored the rage filled shriek, and toned it down to a whimper of anger, as her strong spirit crushed Sakura's weak one. Getting a feel for her actual body, she kicked out a leg and lowered it moments later, and then ran her hands over her short pink hair, and then over the rest of her body, stopping briefly over her large breasts as she cupped them, squeezing them togetherm in the red fabric of her shirt. "Jeez. Never knew thet were so big."

Then she felt Naruto's worry in her head, and turned around, uncupping her large chest as she did so.

She then smiled down at her exhausted boyfriend, who staggered to his feet as soon as he saw the happy look in her eyes. "How's that?" Her thoughts echoed in his head still, and he felt her indescribable joy, that mere words could not hope to ever convey to him. Seconds later, Inner Sakura, now just Sakura, the REAL Sakura that he had fallen in love with, pressed her lips against his, and she made a single seal as her arms wrapped around his back, transporting the two of them away...

--

And Naruto had enough time for one blink, as he saw that they had arrived in his house. "Why are we-

Then she kissed him again, pressing her body against his, warm tears of happiness streaming out of her closed eyes, and down her face, as she forcefully kissed him, forcing him down against the nearby bed, whilst one hand undid the zipper on her skirt, the grey fabric falling to the ground as she swayed her hips, causing it to fall down her legs, which promptly kicked it off, revealing a pair of red panties beneath it.

Naruto did not fail to notice this as she ran her hands through his unruly blond hair, as they broke their kiss, to pause for breath, both of them opening their eyes, tears still streaming out of Sakura's. Then she released his hair, and placed her hands above his shoulders on the mattress, palms open and holding her up, potentially giving Naruto an ample view of her large bosom as she spoke. But his eyes were locked with hers, so he did not look. "I've been wanting to do this for SUCH a long time. But I couldn't. I was just a voice in her head. But no longer. Now I can FINALLY be with you."

She choked out the rest of her words as she closed her eyes, a soft smile on her face as the happy water still leaked out. "I'm so happy. I never thought this would happen. I never thought that I could love anyone else as much as you."

To complement her words, she leaned up just a bit to gently kiss his chin before she slowly trailed a bunch of kisses along his jaw. Her lips curved into a small warm grin as she felt him shuddered from her touch, thus it boosted her confidence to know that he was not denying her love, nor attempting to stop what they both knew as probably about to happen. Reaching his ear, she tenderly bit on his lobe and was compensated with feeling him tremble slightly, then grabbed her by the face and gave her a rough kiss on the lips, which she _fiercely _responded to, ignoring the whispers of Actual Sakura in her head, as she shut down the pesky slut from speaking.

Then when they broke for air again, it was Naruto's turn to speak.

"Sakura... Naruto whispered in awe at her words that gripped his heart. He has not ever heard such love from anyone before, especially directed at him, thus he knew he could not _ever_ back away now, for he was caught by this fierce love. He couldn't stop this, even if he wanted to.

And he SO did not want to.

With eyes full of warmth, the blond young man leaned over to kiss her on the forehead, making her grin lovingly at his gesture. He then gave a small kiss on her nose before doing so with her lips, drawing a soft moan from his first crush, as she shivered from the touch of his lips. "Naruto...

At first, their lips touched briefly as they did so for several times. Then after a brief eye lock, green meeting blue, Naruto fully kissed Sakura, both doing so with eyes open at first before the feeling overwhelmed them to close their eyes. Moans emanated from their throats as they savored each other's lips, tasting and feeling each other. It lasted a minute before they parted, their breathing a bit labored, as they both spared a glance at the clock, and saw that it was almost time for Naruto's date with Hinata and Kurenai.

Sakura felt quite upset about that, but she knew that if Naruto loved her as much as she loved him, and she could tell that part was true as she felt his emotions within her. The two had a bond, beyond pyshcic, beyond anything anyone else could ever have. They were linked, their thoughts were always shared with the other, as were their feelings.

There was nothing that thet hid from each other now, as they were inseperably bonded on a mental that surpassed both physical and mental.

He smiled sadly up at her, but she could also tell that he was looking forward to the date with Hinata and Kurenai. She also knew for SURE now, that he loved all three of them equally, and so, she got off him, and sat down on the bed, pulling up her skirt, as she did so, the piece of clothing having landed at the foot of his bed.

"Go. You promised them a date, and-

With a smirk, she pulled him up, and placing her hand over his clawed palm, briefly turned him into her for a second, as she fiercely kissed the now look alike, before she forced him back to normal, as he blinked in dazed confusion It was obvious that she also had some control over the gauntlet as well.

"You had better keep your promises, Naruto-kun."

He smiled brightly at her as he headed towards the bathroom, to get changed, and take a shower. "Thanks Sakura-chan. I'll make this up to you."

She smiled warmly as he closed the bathroom door behind him, before grabbing the clicker off the end of his bed, and flicking on the T.V. as she heard the sound of running water in the shower. "Hai. I know you will Naruto-kun. I know you will."


	15. Special Time with Hinata and Kurenai!

Naruto appeared in a swirl of leaves at Kurenai's house first, and he breathed out a nervous sigh as the door opened, his clawed fingers in the gauntlet clacking against each other nervously, as he clenched and unclenched them over and over. After all, he had made no effort to hide his presence, and he was nearly late. "Oh man I hope she isn't mad-

Our favorite blond hero had discarded his usual jumpsuit, and was now clad in an outfit that was similar to that of Dante, with the exception being that his outfit was a shimmery silver, that reflected off the setting sun, as a slight breeze blew some nearby leaves past him, in the autumn air. That, and it didn't reek of blood. And what he saw made his jaw nearly drop, his sapphire eyes going as wide as dinner plates at the beautiful vixen before him, sweeping all of his nervousness away. "Holy-

Kurenai emerged from behind the door, wearing a bright scarlet dress that was slitted at the sides, showing off her shapely legs, whilst the dress itself fit her womanly curves snugly, accentuating her body, as her long raven black hair, now straightened and cascading down her shoulders. And a light breeze blew it up, as she closed the door behind her, locking it as she did so.

Then she saw the stunned look on his face, and enjoyed the slight trickle of blood down his left nostril as wafted down the steps, swaying her wide hips from side to side as she did so. She also wore bright red ruby lipstick on her lips, which further matched the dress and completed her outfit. "There you are Naruto. Right on time, as always."

Then her red orbs locked with his blue, as she watched him suck the thin line of blood back into his nose, realizing that she had seen it. _'Good. It looks like Jiraiya didn't make him into a TOTAL pervert_.' "How do I look?" She then twirled around, giving him a good look at her long dress, stopping just in front of him her lips incehs from his, daring him to try it.

And he did.

She got her answer in a fierce kiss, which she responded to in kind, snaking her tongue into his mouth like a slippery snake, enjoying the taste of him, of his mouth that always tasted of ramen. _'This'll NEVER get old..._

Then he broke the kiss, and despite the fierce desire she saw in his eyes, he reminded her that she wasn't the only person he was taking out. "Okay, now we need to go get Hina-chan!"

She pouted a bit at this, jjutting her lower lip, coated with red lipstick, her crimson eyes going wide, anime style as she used the dreaded puppy dog pout, the weakness of all men. "Aww...

Naruto gawked at the look she was giving him, but he soon caved, whilst she was forced to remember that she was not the only girl in his life. "Okay, Naruto but I want some-

She leaned in closer to him, her breath hot on his face now, making him suppress a shiver of warmth, and she knew it, judging by the smirk she wore. "Alone time with you later, and I haven't been able to get it. Promise?"

He was forced to grant her request, thanks to the pout she had given him as he knew, that he had spent VERY little time with her out of all three of his girlfriends. He didn't want her to get the short end of the stick, but she and Hinata HAD been put on the back burner, what with the whole Sakura/Inner Sakura problem. But that was taken care of now, and he could spend more...quality time with all three of them.

So, a second later, HE was up in her face, his nose brushing up against hers, his own voice thick and heavy with desire of his own, and none of it was fake. "Promise. I'll even seal it with a kiss."

A second later, the beautiful jonin slammed her lips against his, in a brief but fierce kiss, lasting for only about five seconds, but to the two of them the five seconds felt like an hour as their lips moved over the others in fierce kisses, as Kurenai snaked her tongue into Naruto's mouth again, tasting ramen once more, whilst to him, she tasted like blackberries, grown to perfection with just the right flavor...

--

He was in for a similar shock as they arrived at Hinata's house, only for her to open the door seconds later, revealing herself to be wearing a strapless navy blue dress, that was held up mostly by her large bosom, and the form fitting fabric was literally skin tight, and ended an inch or so above her knees, whilst her own navy blue hair streamed out behind her, pale eyeshadow on her eyes, and coupled with the fact that she was wearing makeup, she looked even MORE lovely than usual.

Naruto smiled as she wafted down the steps, evidently overjoyed as ever to see him. A second later, she got tired of walking, in her black high heels, and just jumped over the steps, right into his arms, which held her about the waist, as her lips caught his in a flying kiss, as he swung her round once in a small circle, before she broke the kiss, to admire his new outfit. " I love the new look, Naruto-kun!"

Naruto smiled warmly at her, his Hina-hime, who had been there for him, when he had nearly gone over to the darkness, the first time. He was one lucky guy. "And I love you." She smiled right back at him, as she nuzzled her nose against his slowly and sensually, the two of them savoring the moment, whilst Kurenai looked on warmly. "Kawai! You're such a charmer Naruto-kun."

He smiled as he flashed her the peace sign, making Kurenai giggle a bit, and Hinata soon giggled as well. "Yeah, I know. Its my gift I suppose."

Then the genjutsu mistress wrapped an arm in his, causing him to reluctantly release his grip on Hinata's waist, as he let her snake her other arm through his right, as she asked the question that had been burning in the minds of his dates as soon as he had told them he was taking them out. "So were are we going?" Naruto chuckled now, as he began to lead them down into the more populated are of the village. "Somewhere special Hina-chan. Somewhere VERY special."

--

The two of them blinked as they saw where he had taken them, and their eyes then widened as they saw the five stars on the sign of the restaurant. Kurenai was the first to recover herself enough to speak. "The Leaf Garden? How did you get reservations for this place? Its usually booked solid for months on end" Now Hinata had recovered herself enough to speak, and she was just as confused as her sensei. "That's right Naruto-kun, how DID you manage to get us a table here?'

He chuckled a bit as he flexed the clawed fingers of his gauntlet. "Lets just say I pulled a few strings." Hinata got his drift immediately, and grimaced a bit. "You didn't hurt anyone did you?' He shook his head at this, and she let out a small sigh of relief. "Now why would I want to do that? I prefer to be more-

Again he clacked his claws together, and a second later, they were at the front of the long line, and no one seemed to notice that. "Subtle." He finished, a smirk on his face as Hinata looked down at the gauntlet, to see another mark, this one atop the wrist, and the small kanji stood for 'fade'. Kurenai arched an eyebrow, and noted the obvious, as Naruto told the waiter which table was theirs, and the man got them seated. "What else can you do with that thing?"

Naruto shrugged now, picking up his menu, whilst Kurenai and Hinata did the same. "I can only use change and fade for now, but I'm prying all this info out of Dante's head. It takes a bit. I never know what this thing'll do next."

Then the waiter came back, and they gave him their orders...


End file.
